Gnaw Wolf
by Susie of Anna
Summary: Airmead is gnaw wolf condemned to death. Miraculously, she survives with her loyalty drawn to her birth pack. The lives of those who ridiculed her lye under her control. There are two things to do: help them survive, or leave them to die in agony. Gnaw wolves cannot always be trusted, but could Airmead be different from the rest?
1. Chapter 1: A Twisted Paw

Chapter One

A Twisted Paw

Lilly galloped away from her den, away from her pack, and away from her life. She _could_ not join another pack after this; she had given birth to one pup, and it was a _malcadh_, their wolf word for cursed. Her pup had a deformed hind paw: smaller than the rest of its others. Why was it she, a wolf, had to follow their rules?

It was wrong, Lilly thought, to kill a pup just because it was different. They were all lives, just as important as the chieftains of each clan, and even the Fengo at the Watch at the Ring of Sacred Volcanoes. Maybe her pup could survive and come back as a gnaw wolf, though those wolves were never treated right. Lilly felt a void in her heart—that pup meant everything to her after her mate had died. But she could not argue with the laws; the wolves of the Beyond had made them ever since they came into this country. If a _malcadh_ was born, it must be taken to a _tummfraw_, where it would die.

_How do gnaw wolves come back?_ Lilly wondered. _How could it come back if it knows that the clan hated it—set it out to die? Why would the pack take it back in if it had tried to kill it before because of the deformity that has not gone away?_ She snuffed; they should not be allowed to take _her_ pup.

Lilly twitched her ears; another wolf was approaching behind her, only a few yards away. She ducked under sage bushes, though the wolf took no notice of her. It just trotted along its way, scanning the area.

Peeking from her cover, Lilly was cut to the heart of what she saw. It was an Obea, the wolf chosen from the pack to take deformed pups to die. Lilly could not let her get away with this; her own pup was already dead, but this pup that was now being taken might have a chance.

The Obea disappeared into the thick trees, taking no notice of another wolf behind her. She was taking the pup to the Crocked Back Ridge, where it could be carried away by an owl, or trampled by moose. This Obea, Lael, was highly reputable to her clan, though she had not been with them for a long time. She knew just where to place this pup: on the very top of the Ridge, right where owls could see it.

Lilly waited for a few moments before she saw Lael trotting back down the Ridge and towards her clan, leaving the white lone wolf in silence. Finally, after some thought, Lilly bolted from her cover, accelerating herself all the way up the Ridge. She skidded to a stop, catching sight of a small white whimpering object on a large rock, which was partially covered with snow. It was the pup, cold and completely vulnerable. Her right paw was only slightly smaller than the others, though Lilly thought this a ridiculous reason to throw a pup away.

Lilly stepped onto the rock, approaching the pup with great precaution. Wolves were not supposed to help the _malcadh_ pups, ever. But Lilly was robbed of her own son, and would not care of the rules in the Beyond.

The thoughts left her head as a brown streak dashed from the sky and grabbed the pup. Lilly gave a cry of anger—it was an owl, stealing the pup away; there was nothing to do, but Lilly thought fast. She jumped onto the very top of the rock and leaped into the air only seconds after the owl had passed, slicing it's back with her claws.

The pup fell to the ground motionless as the owl flew away, Lilly landing again beside it, panting with her red tongue hanging from her mouth. "No!" she cried, taking a jump towards the pup. Its left forepaw was twisted and bloody from the fall, whimpering noises coming from its throat. "This can't be happening." Lilly whispered to herself. Where was she supposed to take it for help? She was a notoriety to the wolves of the Beyond for saving it, but she was not about to stop. With a bark of confidence, she scooped the pup by the scruff and bolted away towards to the south-west: to someone who might help.

Lilly trotted up a steep hill, snow beginning to swirl around her. The journey through the Slough had been a tough one, but the pup still seemed to be giving off warmth—it was still alive, still able to survive if someone could tend to its leg.

She stepped into the cave, seeing an old wolf with wild fur standing next to a fire, and tending to it. This was the Sark of the Slough, a wolf who did not belong to any pack, but lived alone in the Slough, playing with fire and making cures for a variety of sicknesses. "Yes…?" she asked, her back still towards Lilly.

"I…" Lilly was timid, for if the Sark gave her away she could be killed. "I need a medicine for this—my—pup. Can you help?" she scooped up the pup again, setting it down beside the Sark and the fire. "Its leg is—"

The Sark turned towards the pup, frowning. She had a skittish eye that always flicked about, though now it seemed to grow still. "That is a late pup in the season," she said, knowing pups this late were considered _malcadhs_.

"Yes, I know that, but she needs help. Her paw is twisted and cut." Lilly nudged the cold pup, hoping for a quick response.

The Sark stared at Lilly suspiciously, cocking her head as her nose twitched. "Mosses stop the bleeding, and make sure to wash off the wound, dear. I'm sure it will heal after a while." she turned back to her fire, tending to her fire again.

Lilly shook her head violently. "No, Sark; it isn't that kind of cut. Look at it closely… it's strangely twisted, as if it were born that way." she clamped her muzzle shut, correcting herself immediately. "Not that she _was_ born that way, but it still _looks_—"

"You took this pup from its _tummfraw_, didn't you?" the Sark asked, looking back down at the pup.

Lilly fell silence, staring into the fire as her ears slowly folded back. "Yes... I did." she hung her head. "I just lost my own _malcadh_, and I could not let this pup die there. An owl came and grabbed it, but I jumped in time to claw it. It dropped this pup, and she landed wrong. I beg you, Sark—don't tell anyone. I will be forced into the Outermost!" she felt terrible saying that word. The Outermost was a land just outside of the Beyond, where Outclanners lived: vile and evil wolves, unworthy of being called sane.

"Alright, alright…" the Sark hushed her. "I understand what you mean. A pup falling at this age is very bad, and I am afraid she won't heal from it as quickly as I thought. I think her paw will continue to be twisted as long as she lives, maybe, but the wound can be mended as long as you remember to tend to it." she frowned. "How are you to take care of the pup if you have no milk to feed it?"

"I do, I do!" Lilly protested. "I had a pup before, a _malcadh_, which was taken from me this morning. I can still nurse." Lilly was calming down now, and glanced back down at the pup. "Please, Sark; don't tell anyone."

"I won't," the Sark smiled. "You have my word."

**Disclaimer- I do not own Wolves of the Beyond, Kathryn Lasky does. Review? **


	2. Chapter 2: Sight and Sound

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolves of the Beyond or any of its original characters; Kathryn Lasky does**

Chapter 2

Sight and Sound

Lilly knew just where to den: in the hills, to the north of the Sark of the Slough, and just west of the McAngus Clan. Lilly wanted to stay far away from her birth-clan, the Mac Duncan Clan, in the east of the Beyond. A wolf might recognize the pup. _Pup!_ Lilly thought to herself as she kept a tight grip on its scruff. _It needs a name, for goodness sake. It would be shameful to be called Pup._

She dropped down into a den, a tunnel through the ground. She set the pup down, glad to finally be out of the cold. "How cruel to have set such a wonderful pup out to die," she murmured, curling down beside her. She thought of her cousin: an Obea. Lilly loathed Obeas, though as she thought of her cousin, she realized that she was the only Obea who had not taken a pup to die. This was something to respect, so Lilly would name the pup after her cousin, Airmead.

"Airmead," she licked the white pup's forehead. "That's perfect."

She poked her head out of the den, finding their new home an almost invisible den with a reasonable amount of shrubbery on the outside to hide it. Slowly, she stepped out of the den, scanning the arena. Her ears rotated as she attempted to funnel in any sound—finally, running water struck her like a knife.

Lilly galloped off in that direction, an immense fear for Airmead's safety. What if a cougar or bear found the den before she returned? What if another wolf found the den and discovered what Lilly had done? All the more reason to act swiftly.

The white wolf set one of her large paws into the creek, her dark green eyes sweeping back and forth across the waters. With a sigh of relief, Lilly spotted a large patch of moss growing on a large gray stone on her side of the brook. She clawed and bit at it until a good piece came loose, splashing into the water.

Airmead began to make small barks and whimpers as she was without warmth, beginning to kick her paws forward in search for her mother. Lilly scrambled back into the den, a dripping mop of moss hanging from her jaws. She threw it down beside the entrance and quickly curled back around her rescue. Airmead paused for a moment, becoming still as her nose twitched, the smell of her mother returning to her.

It was fairly easy to nurse Airmead; the pup would drink until Lilly would nudge her away, and usually would not fret of it, but would quickly knock out into a long slumber. This was a perfect time to wrap the moss onto Airmead's left twisted paw, and lick away the blood.

After a few days in their new den, the air inside began to stir, and it became warmer than before—still, the temperature outside was slowly dropping. Lilly now saw how terrible it was to have a pup this late; the cold could be bad enough to kill a pup that was out in it too long.

Airmead felt she must open her eyes and ears and get out into the world: to know where Lilly was without feeling or whining for her. She had no knowledge but the fact that warmth engulfed her every time she whined enough. Why could she not find Lilly on her own? There was no trace of the white wolf except for her feeling, but why was Airmead blind and deaf? Airmead was so animate, but it was difficult to do so without hearing or seeing anything.

On the thirteenth day that Lilly had adopted Airmead, the white pup's eyes opened, and for the first time, light meant something to her. She could find where her mother was without having to feel! Feeling meant so much more now that she knew _what_ it was she was feeling.

Lilly had guessed that Airmead's eyes would be the beautiful green every wolf of the Beyond's was, though the pup's eyes still surprised her. They were so green, so dark and deep that they seemed endless. "You are so beautiful!" Lilly whispered, licking Airmead's forehead.

Airmead opened her little mouth again and again, cocking her head. _Why has she opened her mouth?_ Airmead wondered about Lilly. The thought dwindled away as Lilly allowed her to nurse again, though it returned quite suddenly.

"I can't wait to see you all grown up," said Lilly, staring down at Airmead.

The little white pup stopped drinking and looked back at Lilly. She could feel a vibration! What was it, and why was it there? Airmead was too curious she could hardly fall asleep that night. _I want to know!_ she whimpered in her head.

Lilly told her daughter goodnight, and again the strange vibrations buzzed through Lilly's side, surprising Airmead. What where those queer feelings? They had not seemed to protrude into Airmead's thoughts before she had been able to see, but now they were annoying whimpers out of her. Maybe the strange vibrations could be healed just as the blindness had.

Lilly licked Airmead awake one fine morning, drawing her attentions to her twisted paw. It seemed to be all better now, besides a scar. Airmead was still angry; she violently shot her eyes from her left paw to Lilly's left paw. They were different, but why? Airmead let out a high-pitched whimper, getting a lick to the forehead. "What's wrong, Airmead?" Lilly asked quietly.

Airmead stared at her mother in shock. What was that? The vibrations were even louder, but she did not have to press and ear against Lilly's side. "Airmead!" the pup cried, slapping her muzzle shut in shock. What was that strange vibration—it was evolving into something so much more clear.

Her mother gave a woof of joy, nodding and licking her forehead again. "That's it!" said Lilly. "Airmead!" she could tell now that Airmead was frightened.

"Airmead!" she cried again, transfixed in the clearing of the fuzzy sounds. "Thas it!" she smiled, proud of herself. But Lilly shook her head.

"No," she shook her head. "_That's_ it. Good!" she smiled to show what the word meant.

There was a small silence before Airmead gave a big smile. "That's it! Airmead! Good!" she was so proud; she could make the same vibrations just as Lilly had, though they made no sense.

Lilly set a paw onto Airmead's head, and then over her heart. "Airmead," she said again.

Airmead repeated this, touching her head with difficulty and then her heart. "Airmead," she said calmly. But inside, she was the opposite of calm. She was pulsating along with her heart, her mind racing with curiosity.

Lilly smiled, and then pointed to herself. "Mum," she said before pointed to Airmead again. "Airmead."

"Mum," Airmead touched Lilly's paw with her nose, and then touched her own leg. "Airmead." she gave a cry of joy. "Good! That's it!" she yipped again, crawling around in circles as if she were chasing her tail. She stopped before scraping her claws on the floor of the den.

Lilly did the same, scooping some dirt onto her paw. "Ground," she explained.

Airmead gasped as if her life was completely changed. "Groun! Groun, good!"

She fell silent as Lilly shook her head, frowning. "No," she replied. "Ground—ground!"

There was another pause; this language was complicated for Airmead, though Lilly was shocked at how fast she was learning. Airmead looked back at Lilly and cocked her head to one side. "Ground?" she asked.

"Good!" Lilly nodded. "Yes—that's it!" she scraped some snow into the den, frightening Airmead with the strange, cold white objects. "Snow." she said.

Airmead leaped on to it as it melted, her green eyes wide open. "Snow," she repeated before looking back at up at Lilly. "Snow? Good? Yes?"

"Good, yes!" she nodded happily.

Airmead frowned, shaking her head despite her joy. "No," she said before nodding with a smile again. "Good! Yes."

"Wonderful!" cried Lilly. "Airmead is doing perfectly."

The pup stopped, staring at Lilly with confusion. "_Wonderful_?" she asked.

"Wonderful… good… great… perfect… yes!" Lilly explained as she nodded her head with a smile. "No," she shook her head as a demonstration. "Bad… _not_ good…"

Airmead held up her right paw, whimpering. "Yes," she said, dropping it and holding up her left. "No."

"Good," she pointed to the right paw, and then the left. "Bad." she was glad that her pup was learning, though it was peculiar how quickly she learned. In no time she was speaking short sentences.

"Mum, let's go outside!" Airmead screeched.

Lilly shook her head. "You're too young," she mumbled, rolling over.

Airmead's white guard hairs stood straight up on her back. "Too young?" she cocked her head, trying to understand what her mother meant.

Her mother stood up, showing what would happen. She pretended to walk out of the den, and then fell onto her side, choking until she was quiet. This only made Airmead laughed. "No," Lilly said. "Airmead—you—are too small."

"Too small?" Airmead recognized the word _too_, but did not know why the words _small_ and _young_ came after it. "Small, young. What does that mean?" she did not yet understand the sentence _what does that mean_, but Lilly had taught her to say it when she did not understand.

Lilly sat up, pointing to herself. "Mum," she began, "Mum is big." she held her paw above the ground, over her head to show how tall she was. "You, Airmead, are small and young." she showed how tall Airmead was, and compared them. "You will die."

"Die?"

Lilly slapped a paw to her throat and began to choke again, and slammed against the ground, dead. "Bad," she said. "You don't want to die. You can go outside in a few days."

Airmead hopped towards her mother, her tail thumping against the ground. "Can go outside in a few days. What does that mean?" she cocked her head in confusion, awaiting the answer.

Lilly groaning, staring her pup in the eyes. "You are allowed to walk outside after more darkness and light." she would have said it with more meaning if Airmead knew more words, but the only thing she understood were the words you, are, allowed, walk, outside, darkness, and, light. She could put those words together to understand what Lilly was trying to say.

"Ooh…" Airmead understood now, and limped over to Lilly's side. In a few days, she might be able to walk out onto the snow, and get her first looks at the clouds, trees, and sun.

**The first five chapters or so are all about Airmead growing up, but trust me; they get a lot more interesting. :D**


	3. Chapter 3: Wolves of the Beyond

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolves of the Beyond or any of its original characters; Kathryn Lasky does**

Chapter Three

Wolves of the Beyond

Airmead finally awoke the next morning, able to see and hear at the same moment. She could hear her mother's booming heartbeat, and the wind whisking by the den entrance. She leaped to her paws, beginning to screech. "Mum, Mum!" she cried, nudging Lilly's face with her crooked paw. "Wake up! I go outside, yes?"

"Say, 'I get to go outside today, right?'" Lilly replied.

Airmead shook her head, wanting to get her way first. "No! Outside, and _then_ say."

"First, you must say, 'I get to go outside today, right,' and then we may go," Lilly turned over, her furry back towards Airmead. The pup hung her head down, glaring at the ground in disappointment. She was not quite sure how to go against her mother, for she could still remember getting swatted when she was blind and deaf if behaving with an ill conduct.

"Mum…?" she mumbled. "I get to go outside today, right?"

Lilly immediately jumped to her feet, nudging Airmead's little head with her nose. "Yes, you do." she smiled at Airmead's squeal and yip of approval, the white pup leaping behind her mother's heels to follow.

Airmead blinked as the darkness turned to bright, blinding light. Her pupils had been large for all her life, and now they shrunk to little slits as she gazed out into the world. Everything was so bright, especially the sky. It was hard to look into it without shutting her eyes, but it never lessened in its gloriousness. "What does that mean?" Airmead asked, staring at the sky.

Her mother, at first, did not understand what she was saying, but this was what the pup said whenever she was wondering what something was. "What is it?" Lilly corrected.

"What is it?" Airmead repeated in a whisper, gazing up into the immense sky.

"That," began Lilly, "is the sky. Say sky."

"Sky!" Airmead said, and then looked down. "Ground, snow." she smiled, waiting for an answer.

Lilly nodded. "Yes! That's it!" she nudged her pup; she was learning!

It was ten days after Airmead had said her name for the first time, and now she was speaking fluently. There was hardly a moment in the day when they were not talking, unless Lilly was showing Airmead how to hunt. The fear of being caught with the pup had faded away.

"Mum," Airmead said as they snuggled close for the night. "I saw foxes today."

"Did you stay away from them?"

"Yes, I did. I saw they had young fixes with them; their children, right?" she waited for Lilly to nod, and then continued. "Well they had a mum, but they had someone else."

"Yes…" Lilly knew this question was going to rise up sooner or later. "That was their father. Most other animals have _two_ parents; a mother and a father. Their father is bigger and stronger than their mother, and hunts for them. But you only have a mum."

"Why?"

"Well… because I am not your real mum."

Airmead lifted her head from her paws, cocking her head to one side. "What does 'real' mean?" she asked. Maybe she had heard that word, but it seemed very irregular to her, and maybe not something she would like.

"Real means true. I _found_ you, I did not give birth to you." she sighed; what would Airmead think?

"You found me?" Airmead asked, gasping. "Who is my real mum? Do I actually have a father? Why did they leave me?"

Her mother began to do some serious explaining, knowing it would take a while. "You and I are wolves, but we are not the only ones. There are many others who live in big clans and help find food for each other. Wolves don't like pups that have one eye, or no tail, or twisted paws. They put them out to places where they will die. That is where I found you."

"So, this is why they tried to kill me?" she asked, looking down at her paw.

"No, it is not." said Lilly. "Pups are to be born when there is no snow. Your right paw is a little smaller than the others; that's why."

Airmead did not understand, despite all of her constant thoughts. "But, if I had a twisted paw too, then that's why they would set me out, right?" she looked back down at it, glaring at it.

"Well, when I found you, and owl came and grabbed you to kill you," Lilly explained, wondering if she would have to explain what an owl was (of course, Airmead had seen one once). "I jumped into the air and scratched its back, so it leg you go. You fell and landed onto your paw. That's how it became that way."

The pup stared at the scar on her paw, her green eyes wide open with shock. "_You_ did this to my paw?" she whispered.

Lilly nodded. "Without meaning to, Airmead."

"But I hate that about my paw! I can hardly walk with it." Airmead whimpered, throwing herself onto her side. "This isn't fair! You aren't supposed to hurt me; I am your daughter." she shut her eyes, barked, whined, and yipped.

Lilly struck Airmead, reminding her that discipline still existed, even if she cried harder. "Airmead, would you rather have that twisted paw or die? I saved your life from that, and though your paw is twisted, you can still do things just as well." she licked Airmead's forehead, drawing her close with a paw. "No matter what, Airmead, I will always love you, even if you do cry and whine like that."

"I love you too, Mum," Airmead sobbed, trying to calm herself down. It was a foolish thing to cry about, but at the age of about a month old, she was already beginning to become mature. Lilly was teaching her daughter well for a first-time mother.

The following days were not similar to that of before. Airmead continued to learn to speak, and soon only had to ask what a big word meant. Milk was no longer on her diet, but half digested meat now was.

Lilly most enjoyed teaching Airmead to fight and hunt, which the pup was extremely proficient of. As Lilly took long naps, at times she would wake with Airmead waiting for her, a dead mouse hanging from her jaws. "Teach me, mum. Teach me to fight!" the pup barked.

Her mother stood up, stretched, and jumped into a play-bow. "Do you want to look dominant?" she asked excitingly, Airmead nodding violently. "Well then let me see your teeth, pup."

"Like this?" said Airmead in a muffled voice, her teeth bared.

Lilly nodded with a laugh. "Just like that, Airmead. Now let your guard hairs poke up to make you look bigger. Yes, just like that! Now shove your ears forward and stand up tall, staring your submissive opponent in the eye, and never look away." she watched her daughter open her eyes wide, staring up at her mother. "Now growl real fierce-like."

Airmead leaped into the air with a snarl of ferocity. "Like that, mum?" she asked.

Her mother nodded, and then lashed a claw out to an imaginary enemy. "Now, most wolves don't do this, but it's my very own technique. Jump next to the attacker's neck, and slash their eyes. That way, they can't tell where you are going to strike next. Then go for the artery in their neck; that always gets them." she let out a growl. "But you have to act angry, Airmead, or else they'll just kill you."

"Mum?" asked Airmead after a short silence. "When can I meet the other wolves?"

Lilly took a deep breath. "I'll tell you more about other wolves tonight, dear, but not now. Now, I've got to tell you about you. You are getting older, and aren't so little anymore. You are maybe fifteen pounds now, which is a good size for a pup your age. But soon, we're going to have to leave this den, and go down elevation to the river; that's a good place to be, where you can grow up."

The pup smiled, though inside she did not want to leave this den. It was where she had lived her entire life; how could she leave it? "Why are we leaving here again?" she asked.

"Well, down by the river, we can hunt more. There won't be much snow, and it will be beautiful. It's the best way to help you grow up." she nuzzled Airmead with a warm smile. "Now I can tell you about the other wolves."

The two settled down together in the darkening den, Airmead rolling onto her back and staring up at the rocky ceiling. "Well, what about those wolves?" she asked, glancing towards Lilly.

"Well, as I said, those wolves don't like _malcadh_ pups. Wolves have many words, and _malcadh_ means 'cursed one.' Well, that's sort of what you were. But, if those little pups survive their death sentence, they can come back into the pack as gnaw wolves. I've seen gnaw wolves, Airmead, and their lives are terrible. Other wolves treat them terribly, and even bite them sometimes for no reason. But, wolves of the Beyond—their hunting parties are the most beautiful things you've ever seen. They call it _byrrgis_, where wolves form into one large moving mass of one another and hunt down caribou, moose, red deer, and all sorts of big animals. They've got she-wolves like you and me up at the front, and then others in special orders behind them. With ear twitches and tail wags, they communicate without speaking. But they have many rules that no one can speak or go out of their spots during the hunt until they have caught something. Important wolves eat first, and then the gnaw wolves last."

"What do gnaw wolves do in the _byrrgis_?"

"They examine the tracks and scat of the animal being hunted to tell about it. Wolves always pick out the weakest and easiest of the heard, which they call a _cailleach_, and then they scare it out of the heard and kill it. As it dies, wolves look into its dying eyes and value its life for its last few seconds of breath. It's pretty cool."

Airmead looked excited. "Really? Can I ever go into a _byrrgis_? I'd love racing beside other wolves, hunting something down as a team."

"If you ever go back, Airmead… you'd be a gnaw wolf."

Airmead's excitement suddenly drained. "Oh," she mumbled. "When I grow up, can I go into the packs anyway?"

"That's your choice," Lilly sighed. "Just keep in mind, their hits hurt very, very bad." Lilly nearly whimpered; it would be so difficult to watch her daughter as a gnaw wolf.

Airmead jumped to her paws, gasping. "Hey, mum; what clan am I from? McAngus? MacNab? MacDonegal? The MacHeaths are mean—am I from them?"

Lilly shook her head. "Nope. None of those. The _one_ other, besides the Namara."

The pup cocked her head with confusion. "MacDuncan? Cool! Which are you from?"

"MacDuncan," explained Lilly. "That's where the wolves who started the Watch at the Ring of Sacred Volcanoes live. I know, I know—what is the Watch. Gnaw wolves get to compete in the _gaddergnaw_ games, and whoever wins is respected. They go and watch over embers inside of volcanoes to the east. They only hold the games once every few years."

Airmead lay back down, still curious. "When was the last time they did it? I hope it wasn't recent, because I want to do it once I'm an adult."

"Uh…" Lilly whimpered. "They did it this year, Airmead. Right after Duncan MacDuncan, chieftain of the MacDuncan clan died. I don't think they will have another again for a long time. Sorry." she licked her daughter before rolling over. "Now get some rest; you need your rest for play-fighting tomorrow."

Early the next morning, as dawn cracked over the horizon, Airmead leaped out of the den in excitement; it was a new day, filled with new adventures. With Lilly behind her, she bolted towards the brook in search of fish.

Lilly had taught her how to catch fish, though not as well as bears could. It would take many minuets for Lilly to catch a fish, while moments for a bear. And if Airmead _did_ catch a fish, Lilly would eat it for her, and later regurgitate it. "When can I _eat_ it?" Airmead repined.

"Maybe when your permanent teeth come in," answered Lilly.

Airmead leapt for a silver, slick fish, ducking her head under the water with her mouth wide open. Again, she jumped onto the shore, shook her fur to rid of water, and began to claw at her kill. As Lilly would cut it open with her claws and eat the good meat, Airmead would lap up the blood-puddles. She wanted to savor the taste of the fish in that creek before moving away down to the river. "Mum," she began slowly. "I just wanted to tell you, I've decided to be a gnaw wolf when I grow up. I need something to make me stronger; a trial."

"Really?" Lilly asked with a whimper in her voice. "Well, it is still your choice. It is a brave thing to do, knowing what those wolves do to some." she nuzzled her. "I'll always be here for you, if you want someone to make you feel better." she sighed, turning back towards the den. "Well, get some memories of this place. We'll leave tomorrow for the river."

Airmead sighed; she did not truly want to go, but it would be another trial for her. Her mind was still fastened onto the wolves of the Beyond and their curious ways.


	4. Chapter 4: Marks on a Bone

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolves of the Beyond or any of its original characters; Kathryn Lasky does**

Chapter Four

Marks on a Bone

Airmead diligently followed her mother down the hills, a keen smile across her face, for she was on her first adventure. The scenery was changing dramatically, trees multiplying as their journey progressed. In the middle of the day, Lilly and Airmead caught a plump hair, and though Airmead did a lot of the catching, she watched _Lilly_ eat it. It was not a big deal; Airmead got the half-digested part of it.

Not long after they had eaten, Lilly proudly revealed to her pup a flower, rare for the behavior of the weather. Airmead thought it was even more fascinating than the owl she had seen before, or even the family of foxes. Grass was much less frequent than Lilly had said, but it was winter; the grass and flowers would come later. Some berries, Lilly had said, were wonderful to eat and made a wolf's fur extra glossy and beautiful, though like everything, that would wait until spring.

All day, they trotted down hill and into more and more trees until Airmead was almost lost. Lilly would slow down to let the pup catch up, for even going down hill was exhausting. They would take breaks, during which Airmead would throw herself to the ground and turn from enthusiastic to utterly languid. "Now, let's get on," Lilly panted, nudging Airmead along.

The white wolf stepped up again, her short and stubby legs wobbling. She was only about two and a half months old, the perfect age to be moving to another den, but she felt too weak. "Mum, why am I _so_ tired?" she panted, turning from a walk to a trot.

"Remember," Lilly began soberly. "You were born late. For a pup born late, you should be proud. Some don't make it this far."

Airmead lowered her head with a short growl. "Oh, thanks for raising my hopes and dreams for life, Mum. That's really a happy subject."

Lilly laughed, using her muzzle to push against Airmead's hind-quarters, moving her along. "Come on." She began to canter forward, forcing Airmead to have to catch up.

It was not before they were standing at the banks of a river, watching salmon swiftly streak passed. "We did it!" Airmead panted. "And I actually made it without _dying_." she glared at Lilly with a short laugh.

Lilly ignored her sarcastic remark and walked away, her eyes scanning for a reasonable den to dig out. With Airmead behind her, Lilly finally spotted a small den opening in the side of a mound only about fifty yards from the river, surrounded with spruces. "It's small," Lilly frowned, looking it over. "But it will do. We'll dig it out together."

The two stuck their heads into the den, digging into the few chambers. It was possibly a coyote or fox den, but soon to be an enlarged wolf den. Airmead liked digging, and it was a relief to do something easier than walking now. Their work was growing immensely, and by twilight, two chambers had been dug out.

Once that step was completed, Lilly took Airmead to the river to wash up their dirty-brown fur. It turned into a water massacre, but isn't that what cleaning yourself is all about?

"Alright!" Lilly screeched, twisting her body back and forth to shake the water away. It took another plead to finally get Airmead to stop splashing and come back onto the snow-covered banks. Airmead jumped from the banks and licked her mother's muzzle countless times before grooming through her guard hairs.

Airmead let out a long and tiresome yawn, a yip to end it. "Well, I'm exhausted. What do you say we get some rest for play fights and gnaw wolf training tomorrow."

"Do you really want me to teach you to be a gnaw wolf?" Lilly laughed. "It's not a pleasant thing to be a gnaw wolf, but you think you need the training? I'll agree to that. Get off to the den."

Airmead galloped off towards the den, Lilly quickly following. Just as they had when Airmead was a few days old, they snuggled close together. The night continued, the moon a splinter through the darkness.

Days seemed perfect near the river, and Airmead grew used to it faster than she had expected to, surprising Lilly as well. The pup was growing larger, smarter, and heavier, about three months old now.

Because Airmead wanted to join the MacDuncan Clan again when she was an adult, Lilly taught her submission rolls and how to act when seeing a dominant wolf. "Now, act as if Adair has walked up." Lilly said.

"Um, Mum… who's Adair?"

"Oh; sorry. He's a pack lord; very dominant," Lilly sighed. "He'd whack you on the muzzle, and that hurts the worst!"

Airmead lowered her head and let herself bend down, grinding the side of her face into the dirt and avoiding eye contact. "Like this, Mum?" she asked.

She nodded. "Yes! You are a fast learner, Airmead. Now, the best part of being a gnaw wolf is getting to gnaw. That's where they get their name. If you're a good artist, then you'll be more useful. Some gnaw wolves just scrape in lines onto old bones. But you, Airmead—I can tell you'll be able to gnaw like no other gnaw wolf could (besides maybe the wolf who jumped for the sun)!"

"What wolf that jumped for the sun?"

Lilly snuffed. "Just a silver wolf… he was giant, but that's because some said he was raised by a grizzly bear. He was a master of art on gnawing. He's at the Watch at the Ring of Sacred Volcanoes now."

The pup growled as the fur on her back stood up, "Can't they make a shorter name for that place? The Watch at the Ring of Sacred Volcanoes. That's insane!"

"Well, you'll never make it there if you keep whining about it!" laughed Lilly. "Let's find some bones. No, not that one; that's the hare we killed. We need a _big _bone to do some nice work on." She led Airmead away. "We'll hunt for caribou today."

This caused Airmead to gallop up by her mother's side, her eyes wide with excitement. Her mother, though Airmead did not know, had run in the _byrrgis_ herself before she was kicked out of her clan. Airmead wondered why Lilly had never returned, but soon she realized that it was because of her.

Lilly tore out the liver of a weak caribou, tossing it to Airmead. "There," she said. "For biting its heels, you can eat that by yourself."

"Really?" Airmead shrieked, never waiting for an answer before beginning to shred it. It was not long before she was waiting for something else to eat, but her mother only tossed her a leg bone, the muscles already scraped off.

Lilly stood up, contented with her fill of the meal. "You can clean that bone off, and then I'll show you how to gnaw, though I don't really know how to do it well. Bring it back to the den." she began to lead the way.

Airmead locked her little jaws around the middle of the bone, beginning to drag it slowly forward. Home was not too far away, though it seemed forever until Airmead finally pushed the bone into the entrance. "Now what?" she panted.

Her mother had brought back a smaller bone from the caribou, and began to demonstrate. "Alright, first you set your teeth on it. Your teeth at the back of your mouth—close to your throat—are good sheering teeth. They carve deeply. But you probably won't be able to carve very well until your permanent teeth come in."

"What about my front teeth?" wondered Airmead aloud. "Those can cut too, can't they? I mean, it will make small cuts." She began to use her teeth to cut into the bone, but it seemed very hard. "It won't cut."

Lilly frowned. "Well, that might be because that's a new bone. It will be better soon once it is older." She gave a powerful cut into hers, beginning to carve a deep hole. With a little yip, she jerked her head back. "If you cut yours deep enough, you can get to the marrow in the center." she began to lick at her bone while Airmead only frowned.

"When are my permanent teeth going to come in?" she asked.

"Any time when you're almost four months old to six months old,"  
Airmead sighed; that was not very long, but she was still tired of waiting. Surprisingly, she could still make light marks on her bone, and began to carve a picture of the river. It was clumsy, though her mother was still keeping her patients despite Airmead's whining.

"Mum," Airmead muttered, curling up beside Lilly. "When will my bones be as good as yours?"

"When you are an adult, they will be much better than that!" Lilly stated, sighing. "But now, pup, you need to make your pictures much more thank marks on a bone."


	5. Chapter 5: A Hunt in the Frost Forest

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolves of the Beyond or any of its original characters; Kathryn Lasky does**

**Review!**

Chapter Five

A Hunt in the Frost Forest

"See?" Lilly smiled. "It didn't take that long."

Airmead cringed, letting out a short growl. "But it still hurt," she stood up, grinning. "Well, now that my _new_ teeth have come in, can we do something different and special?"

Her mother glanced towards the shimmering, bubbling waters of the river. "What? You don't like it here?" she laughed, nodding. "I know what you mean, Airmead, and it is as if you've read my mind. I wanted to take you up north, to the borders of the Outermost, and within the Frost Forest. That's where the best meat is, and you'll be able to eat all you want of it."

"Oh, Mum! Can we go now? Please?" she slapped both paws onto her mother's staring into her green eyes. "I hunt _really_ well."

Lilly nodded. "We'll go tomorrow morning," she assured her. Airmead was visibly excited about it, knowing there would be fun without doubt, though Lilly had her suspicions. Cougars and Outclanners occasionally ventured there: where they should never be. But with two wolves of the Beyond, they would have a higher chance of getting a way.

Lilly was extremely precautions now; there was something dreadfully obscure regarding the weather. The moons of summer had engulfed the Beyond, yet the ground was covered with snow, and had been for some time. "Where'd the flowers go?" Airmead panted, trying to catch up to her mother.

"I'm not sure; the weather is never like this," replied Lilly, glancing about. "We're almost there now; on the way home, we can visit our first den in the hills."

"Yes!" Airmead quickened her pace with joy, nodding. "I would definitely enjoy that. Oh—look Mum, the forest! Goodness, is it frosty."

Lilly gave her a look, laughing. "It has to be, Airmead. But you are right; it is whiter than usual. And look! See those black specks far, far away?"

"I see them, Mum,"

Lilly nodded, continuing once more. "Those are caribou; one of which will be taken down by none other than the brave Airmead herself." she paused for a few moments before going on. "And her fabulous mother, Lilly."

"Ah, yes." Airmead rolled her eyes. "When are we getting there?" she began to gallop, soon finding herself immersed in trees.

Lilly said nothing, for soon they were staring, from their cover, at a small herd of caribou. Airmead knew what to do: spot the weak one and herd her out. And soon enough, out the outside of the grazing herd, was an old female stuttering this way and that, obviously ready to drop dead. Nevertheless, she was a target with a reasonable about of meat.

After a reassuring yip from Lilly, the two wolves darted from the sage and towards the herd. Lilly ran around straight towards the cow while Airmead sped through the herd to a superior angle, the two herding the caribou out and away from its cover. Lilly knew Airmead wanted to do this on her own, to show her mother that she could do things right. Well, this time, she would prove just what she pleased.

Lilly leaped onto the cow's back just as Airmead jumped in front and onto its neck, locking her jaws around its throat. With the weight, the caribou collapsed with a grunt, trying to shake herself free of the attackers. Airmead kept a firm grip until her teeth caught and cut the life-giving artery in its neck, sending a small spurt of blood. With a thud, the caribou's head thumped to the ground, its eyes blazing with fright. Airmead stepped away, staring at it until its constantly bobbing side had come to a forever stop.

The two began to dig in, and just as Lilly had said, this was the finest meat Airmead had ever tasted. And with its bones, Airmead carved the story of their catch with her new teeth, truly impressing Lilly. "That is superb!" her mum exclaimed, scanning it over. "How did you do that?"

"Just as you taught me!" Airmead said proudly. The two turned towards the trees suddenly, for from it came a rustling and a growl.

Both stood up, their fur straight up as well as they stared towards where the sound had first come. "Airmead," Lilly whispered firmly. "Did you see the fallen trees we passed only a few minuets before finding this place?"

"I did, Mum,"

"Go there!" Lilly whispered. "Run for your life. Don't ever look back." She shoved her away as five Outclanners bolted from their cover and straight for Lilly.

Airmead made no stop, and only slowed once to look back at Lilly. She was pinned down by two of the wolves as the other three sniffed at the carcass, though that was all that was legible. To her left, Airmead spotted the fallen trees. With a small bark, she swerved into it, ducking her head down out of sight. There she lay panting for some time, until another noise came from where she had run. The five Outclanners trotted by, the caribou's blood on their muzzles without noticing her, only to go their way.

A few moments passed before Airmead streaked from her cover and back towards the kill. By the time she had gotten there, the cow was nearly gone, and there was Lilly lying on her side. Her neck was torn deeply, and her artery had been cut. Her eyes were slashed, unusable for the rest of her life.

Airmead slowly approached, but Lilly only growled in thought that it was an Outclanner. "Mum…" Airmead stuttered, the words trembling from her mouth. "I—It's me."

"Airmead!" Lilly gasped, her pup leaping to her side. "Are they gone? Are… are we alone?"

Airmead nodded, countless tears streaming down her cheeks. "Yes, Mum. We're all alone; they're gone." she let out a loud sob, shaking her head. "You're hurt, Mum! I'll take you home… you'll be alright."

The white wolf only sighed, trying to ignore her immense pain. "No…" she whispered. "I am done for. They have killed me, Airmead." She coughed up a gush of blood from her throat. "You will go to the MacDuncan Clan, far to the east of here."

Airmead nodded. "I will, Mum. I really will." she saw that her mother was fading.

"Airmead," Lilly said, her voice light and rugged. "I love you… I love you so much."

With that said, Lilly became silent, her side ceasing to bob as she breathed her last. There seemed no more to life now. Airmead was alone, Lilly was dead, and life was dull. "Mum!" Airmead shrieked, her wails filled with utter sadness. She did not care if the Outclanners returned—her mother was dead, and definitely worth mourning for.

It was dusk when Airmead finally stopped sobbing and began to dig a grave for her mother, though she thought it too soon to say goodbye. Lilly was no more: a body with a lifeless expression. The mother who had nursed, raised, and loved Airmead was deceased, never to return.

Once Airmead had buried her mother, she turned to the east, beginning her long journey to the MacDuncan Clan.

* * *

"Finally!" Adair barked to himself. "Those pitiful gnaw wolves are gone from this clan! First it was Heep, that ridiculous tailless wolf with the yellow fur… and he turned out to be a murderer. And then Faolan, the wolf who always thought he was 'special' because of that dumb swirl on his paw. Well, at least they're gone!"

"Uh, excuse me," Airmead trotted towards him, stopped, and submitted. "I am Airmead, a _malcadh_ wolf. I would like to join the MacDuncan Clan as a gnaw wolf."

"Great," Adair murmured to himself before turning back to Airmead. "You have permission to rise again, gnaw wolf. This is not my decision, though I am a lord. Come with me."

By the time Airmead was welcomed into the pack as a gnaw wolf, she truly knew why her mother said it so miserable. "Get away from her, she's cursed," males would say to their mates, and grimacing towards Airmead.

"Who raised you, gnaw wolf?" Liam MacDuncan, chieftain of the MacDuncans said.

"A—A white wolf named Lilly," she glanced around, swallowing with anxiety. "She lost a pup after her mate died, and rescued me. Outclanners viciously murdered her only yesterday. She trained me to become a gnaw wolf, sir."

"Well, that's good!" said Liam. "Most gnaw wolves don't know a thing. You will stay on the outside of our territory, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good! This _gadderheal_ is dismissed." Liam lay back down onto his bed of pelts, Airmead submitting to him before turning towards the exit. She knew that her excitement would be more than twice as much as it were now if Lilly were near to congratulate her.

Airmead found a reasonable abandoned den on the outskirts of the MacDuncan territory to get her first night of sleep without Lilly and within a pack.

She awoke with a start the next morning, startled to find a dark brown wolf within her den, only about a year older than her, and maybe even less. "Who are you?" Airmead barked, standing up. Her fur was raised, though after a moment she realized this was a MacDuncan wolf. Her first reaction would be to tell her to leave at once, letting her know that it was wrong to randomly come into someone's den uninvited. That is when she remembered her rank within the pack, and began to grind her face into the ground. "Forgive me!" she laughed, humiliated. "I'm not very used to this gnaw wolf stuff; I've only been here a day."

Airmead noticed that the wolf had a snow hare hanging from her jaws, and was now setting it down. "It's fine, Airmead," she replied.

"Thank you," Airmead smiled. "Thank you for calling me Airmead for a change. I'm known as 'Gnaw Wolf' around here."

The wolf scooted the hare to Airmead's paws. "Well, you'd better get used to that. You can get up now." she smiled as Airmead regained full height, but looked strangely at her forepaws. "You had two deformities?" she asked. "That's rare."

Airmead looked down at her paws: one was small, the other crooked. "No, I was only born with a small paw. An owl snatched me away as a pup, and my mother made him drop me. I landed on this paw wrong, and now it's permanently messed up. Anyway, who are you?"

The wolf smiled at this gnaw wolf's lack of knowledge of respect, and quickly corrected her. "Listen, Airmead… you won't last a day without at least five hits from Adair unless you learn to speak. You did it perfectly with Liam, but you need to do it all of the time, even to pups."

"What—pups?" Airmead appeared to be disgusted. "Mum told me that this would be harder than it looked."

"Well, I'm Finola." the brown wolf said. "I too think it is wrong how they treat gnaw wolves. I get really skittish around your kind—you should have seen me with Faolan!"

"Who's Faolan?"

Finola looked shocked. "You have not heard of him? He might be the most famous wolf in the Beyond right now. He's got striking silver fur, and he has a twisted paw like yours. He was raised by a grizzly, and made it to the Watch at the Ring of Sacred Volcanoes. He's a hero now—he and his friend Edme. I think gnaw wolves should be respected, considering Faolan and Edme are so heroic, even more so than any other wolf. Anyway… I brought you that snow hare as a welcoming gift. Don't mention it to anyone; they'll think I have a soft spot for your kind. And please remember—respect, because a lot of the time wolves like Adair will hit you. Got that?"

Airmead submitted again. "Yes, ma'am." she smiled and watched Finola leave. "I've not even been here a day, and already I have a friend!" she whispered to herself gleefully.

* * *

"Lower!" Adair commanded, causing Airmead to shrink down to the ground lower. "What did you want, gnaw wolf?"

"Finola came to my den earlier today," Airmead explained. "She said we're going on a _byrrgis_, sir. I was taught that gnaw wolves trot out ahead and find whatever the prey leaves behind and decipher it; I though maybe you would need my help, sir."

Adair gave Airmead a claw to her back, though she held in the cry. "Never make suggestions!"

"Sir, I was merely wondering of you'd—"

She was smacked right down on her muzzle, and the next yelp did come loose. "And don't correct, you insolent gnaw wolf! Liam MacDuncan _has_ summoned you. Finola should have told you that much! Go along with the _byrrgis_, gnaw wolf." He sank his teeth into her hindquarters, getting her to bolt towards the gathering wolves.

"Yes sir! Thank you, sir!" she called back at him, her tail barely tucking between her legs. "Adair and his stupid temper," she whispered to herself.

"What was that?" Finola asked, appearing by her side. "I won't tell anyone, Airmead—lose the frightened face. That's not the first negative remark given about Adair, and it definitely won't be the last. Now, let me introduce you to the wolves I know the most. Over there are the two wolves Taddeus and Bryan; they're friends, and they are about your age. But trust me, Bryan can get a little bossy and fierce. Never approach anyone without a submissive posture. Over there is Kinnaird, a brave old wolf. He's wise, but he is neglected from positive popularity because of he and his mate, Morag, producing a _malcadh_ pup. He's a nice soul, though. You already know Adair… and—"

Finola was cut off by a signal to move onward, and began to trot towards the front. "Whoa, where are you going?" Airmead called, trotting towards her.

"I'm at the front," Finola explained. "I make the kills."

Airmead looked surprised. She was about to compliment when Adair grabbed a hold of her scruff, dragged her towards the front, and shoved her into action. "Do your job instead of fooling around!" he called.

"Oh yeah? Well you'd better make me!" the words nearly came from Airmead's mouth, though she had learned to contain them. She turned towards their direction, for a small, weak heard of moose had been spotted. With that, the _byrrgis_ began at press-paw speed towards their prey.

Soon, Airmead did find some scat. She humiliated herself in being so reluctant to check it out, though when she did, she was able to find out some valuable information. "That's a weak one, a real weak one!" she exclaimed, joyous to have done some help.

"How fresh?"

"Hardy a minuet, I'd guess."

"Good work, gnaw wolf! Now get out of our way."

Airmead stepped out of their way. _Well, you're welcome!_ She thought. The wolves passed by, leaving her alone. With a heavy heart, she trotted on to follow them. After their prey had been spotted, the kill rush came hastily. The wolves of the current time were mess up; greedy for their own fill of things. It seemed that the caribou Airmead had eaten—the final meal with her mother—was the last good meat left in the Beyond.

It was truly so. The moose they had caught was young, though extremely skinny. Nothing was left by the time she was allowed to come anywhere close to it, though lord Adair seemed impressed at her patients and good-nature. Airmead honestly had no care for their kill, for she felt she was just as capable of killing than they were.

Later that day, she easily caught for herself a large family of mice, occasionally asking Finola if she would like one. "No," she replied, glancing off towards the rest of the clan wolves. "I'm stuffed after that moose. I got to eat a good deal of it."

"You didn't save any for anyone else?" Airmead asked, puzzled. "I would have, most definitely. I mean, we're all starving around here, and we're all clan wolves. I'm a gnaw wolf, and that means I don't get to do anything… how come I'm the only one with a mind for help around here?"

Finola flattened her ears, nodding. "It's very sad. Edme, that wolf I was talking about, she came to her pack to tell them about how she really wasn't a gnaw wolf, and after that, it's been snowing during the summer. Superstitious wolves think it's a curse or a sign from 'Lupus;' I don't understand it."

"You don't believe in Lupus?"

"Why would you think that?"

Airmead paused, giving her a confused look. "Well, it's just the way you said it. 'Lupus'…"

"Well you don't sound as if you believe in him either."

Airmead laughed, shaking her head. "No! No, I definitely don't believe in him. I _do_ believe that Someone created us and has a plan, though I don't think it's Lupus. I think that Lupus is a made up thing, because if there is a Creator, He created _everything_, and has a plan for _everything_. Owls have Glaux, bears have Ursus—I think there's only One."

Finola considered this for a moment before nodded, as if she completely understood. "That's smart thinking, though, if I were you I wouldn't mention it around anyone else. They'll scream evil curses at you."

"Curses?"

"Yes. They need never to be repeated. Now get to your den; it's getting real late." Finola and Airmead parted their separate ways, the sun sinking deep into the west.

Airmead felt she was restless; surly it was not time to sleep already. Maybe it was her excitement of having done something in a _byrrgis_, and learning more about her birth clan. Unfortunately, she knew that she had no relatives.

Acknowledging that she was doing so, Airmead passed by her den, not yet ready to go to sleep quiet yet. There seemed to be something out there waiting for her—a new adventure racing ahead of her, and she was the only one who could catch it. At this moment, she stopped dead in her tracks at the sound of wolves howling, barking, and even singing. _Singing!_ Airmead chuckled in her head. _I'd hardly call it that. I'd toss it into the category called: crying, yelling, and throwing up in the same voice._

She poked her head through the greenery to observe, though what she saw was quite disturbing. Wolves, all clan wolves, had somehow created a dull fire and were running around it, dancing, and throwing their head backs in screeches. Airmead was distraught, though not as much as she was frightened as a head popped out of now where right in front of her. It was a wolf, its eyes wide and dilated, its fur once white but now a lifeless grey, and its jaws wide open and drooling. Airmead leaped back as it snapped at her. "Join! Join!" it cried, tossing its head back to look at the party of wolves. The wolf lost all enthusiasm as Airmead claws him across the face and bolted back from where she come.

Almost sobbing with fright, Airmead ducked into her den with a pounding heart—what was that? Did the clan wolves know about it? "Of course they do," she mumbled to herself. "They know about everything. I'm the one who knows nothing."

Despite her lack of knowledge about the wolves of the Beyond, she brought up the subject to Finola. "Dancing around in circles?" Finola asked, disgusted. "No! That never happens around here. I have heard some other wolves speaking of something like that, though I never understood it. They say there's a wolf going around and teaching them that this life is going wrong, that the Beyond is done for so that they should die. Then they get to go to the 'Cave of Souls' before dying in terrible ways here."

Airmead nearly chocked at that. "Wh—What?" she stammered. "That's evil! Who is this wolf?"

"What wolf?" Liam MacDuncan asked, causing Airmead to fall into a very submissive posture.

"The Prophet." Finola explained, submitting as well.

Liam rolled his eyes. "Don't you two she-wolves have anything better to do with your time than poor over myths and rumors?" he growled, clawing Airmead. "Gnaw wolf! Finola, don't spend your time with this cursed gnaw wolf. Practice for _byrrgis_!" he trotted away, the two wolves standing up again.

"Talk about temper," Airmead murmured, causing Finola to burst out laughing.

"Well, I can't ignore Liam's orders," Finola said sadly. She nuzzled Airmead's head before turning away to find her friends.

Airmead knew she was only a gnaw wolf and did nothing for the pack but scout, but she felt she must investigate the Prophet.

**Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6: A Twing in a Paw

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolves of the Beyond or any of its original characters; Kathryn Lasky does**

Chapter Six

Twinge in a Paw

Airmead was about to trot away when two silver wolves trotted up, the brighter one larger than the dull one. She paused to glance at them, the larger wolf with a twisted paw like hers, and the shorter with one eye. Airmead's guard hairs stood up with fright as the wolves entered a den. "Watch Wolves!" she whispered, staggering back as if it was wrong to be so close.

It was not long before the Watch Wolves came from the den again, and into Liam's cave for a _raghnaid_, a supreme meeting. All of the wolves seemed suspicious of the two Watch Wolves, though Airmead felt honored to have laid eyes on one. Little did she know the wolf with the twisted paw was from the same back as she.

Airmead snapped at a few snowflakes as they flecked the air, though her attentions were soon drawn back to the _raghnaid_ cave as Adair came from it, howling with anger. "What's the matter sir?" Airmead asked with concern, nearly forgetting to drive her face into the ground with submission.

"Those two Watch Wolves!" Adair screeched. "They've kicked me out of my position and set Alasterine there instead!"

"Who is Alasterine?"

Adair's eyes continued to flair with anger as if continuously being kindled, though he continued. "Our highest _skreeleen_ wolf and they think she's as good as I am! Those Watch Wolves—ever since he came, I knew Faolan was insane."

Airmead forgot submission postures and quickly rose to full height, her eyes wide with surprise. "That was Faolan? And Edme too?"

"Of course that was them," Adair growled at her, clawing her until her face was against the snow again. "A dumb gnaw wolf like you needs to learn to be submissive! You should be ashamed."

Airmead returned to her regular position as Adair stormed away, leaving her alone once more. She stood up at the sight of Faolan and Edme exiting the _raghnaid_ cave; they looked tired and determined, and obviously they had stirred some excitement.

As they passed by, Airmead sank down into a submission posture, hoping to catch their attentions. Edme, the smaller of the two, gave a small not towards her and an encouraging smile. Airmead felt that was enough, her fur even standing up with a strange feeling of confidence. She was feeling so good that she did not realize that her tail was straight up, she was standing firm and everything about her was looking dominant. She was unaware until Adair's claws warned her. "What's that for, pup?" he snarled, sending her onto her back, cowering.

"F—Forgive me…" Airmead shut her eyes as Adair struck again, this time onto her neck. She choked at the hard blow, rolling back onto her belly with her tail tucked. "It was a thought, honorable Adair. A mere thought, and it had slowly thrown me into that action. I assure you, sir, I will never do it again on purpose with your knowledge."

Adair let out a heavy sigh of anger, trotting away. "Stupid gnaw wolves," he muttered, glaring towards Alasterine as she exited the _raghnaid_ cave. Airmead rose back up, gasping at the sight of the _skreeleen_ wolf. Alasterine was pure white, looking similar to Lilly. Airmead felt as if her heart were melting; it was good to have someone to remind her of Lilly; even Alasterine's smile was some what alike. She could clearly see why this noble she-wolf was replacing the vicious Lord Adair.

"Alasterine," Airmead began, submitting again. "It is an honor. May I ask— what does one do as a _skreeleen_?"

"Silence, gnaw wolf!" a wolf who was following Alasterine snapped.

Alasterine gave that wolf a stern glare before turning back to Airmead. "Rise up, young gnaw wolf. You have a kind notion for behavior and a soothing curiosity. For that, I shall reply. We _skreeleen_ wolves howl to tell stories or read _ceilidh fyre_."

"What is _ceilidh fyre_, ma'am?"

Alasterine looked up to the dull sky. "The yellow streaks of fire." she answered solemnly.

"Oh," Airmead nodded. "Lighting! Alasterine, I humbly thank you for your kindness in telling me so. In my mind, you are the one who I most would like to honor within this pack (besides my best friend Finola). Peace be with you."

Adair gave a huffing laugh, shaking his head in disgust. "You're starting to sound like Heep, gnaw wolf. Telling 'honorable' Alasterine about how humble you feel. 'Humble, humble, humble, humble…'"

Alasterine snarled at him, towering above him with a deep rumble from within her chest. "You are just upset about losing your rank and having those two gnaw wolves, Faolan and Edme, come and beat you to the ground!" This news stung in Airmead's ears, giving her a new joke for a lifetime. The rest of the wolves were solemn, for it was true: Adair had been beaten to the ground by Faolan, the wolf he had struck on the nose only a few moons before.

_Adair? Being beaten to the ground by a gnaw wolf? There is no way! _Airmead was ashamed to be holding in a laugh. Adair had been so fierce when she had first come, as if he was the top dog of the entire clan. He was only a pack leader, and considering Airmead had to memorize the Great Chain, he wasn't way up there. Airmead recalled chanting the Chain over to herself. "Alright, first is 'Lupus', then dead wolves' spirits, air, lighting, chieftains, pack lords, _skreeleens_, _byrrgis_ leaders, captains, lieutenants, sublieutenants, corporals, packers, gnaw wolves, unranked Obeas (I am over the Obea?), owls, other for-legged animals, other birds (except owls), plants, earth, fire, water."

"Well," Adair snuffed, turning away. "Let me _humbly_ apologize for my behavior."

"Apology accepted!" Alasterine called after him, trotting away.

Airmead enjoyed Alasterine's company already. And as time passed onward, and as Airmead grew on as a yearling, she and Alasterine became wonderful acquaintances, talking whenever the _skreeleen_ wolf had the time to. The gnaw wolf expected Finola to be angry. "You aren't angry that I spend time with Alasterine, are you?" she asked timidly.

The brown wolf's jaw dropped. "No!" she cried. "Angry? I'm not only happy for you, but this means I can learn more about _skreeleen_ wolves too! Does she enjoy her job?"

Airmead nodded. "Very much so," she replied. "By the way, did you see how much I've grown? I'm practically a yearling!"

"Practically?" Finola laughed as if it were a joke. "You _are_ a yearling, possibly past that. I'm surprised how your weight is for being a gnaw wolf."

Airmead disliked this remark. Over the famine, she was wishing no one would comment on how skinny or fat she was. For she was just as skinny as the clan wolves when gnaw wolves were supposed to get much less food. She predicted the wolves to ridicule her and say that she was stealing food from their only kills or possibly having Alasterine sneak some in for her. They had not yet, though she had heard one whisper on how well-fed she was for a gnaw wolf. Airmead caught her own food, mostly rodents and maybe small birds if she had a chance. Never would she dream of breaking those rules or make Alasterine break them for her.

Airmead did find it peculiar that she was the same weight (or heavier) than the rest of the wolves, though she did not blame herself. It was embarrassing to talk about her weight out loud—not only because of suspicion, but because her hips jutted out alone with her rips. Lilly had made her so well fed during their days together. Would her mum be disappointed?

"Most wolves don't like it. They think I'm sneaking food or something."

"Well, how do you stay that healthy for this famine?"

Airmead looked at herself with concerned eyes. "You call this healthy?" she sighed, continuing. "I just catch rodents. It's my own hunting, not stealing or breaking any rules. And no, don't tell me that I should tell the other wolves that. They'll think I'm lying."

"Devastation!" cried an old silver wolf, Kinnaird, as he raced into the territory. He had stopped at this pack, the chieftain's pack, to deliver the message. The remains of the other packs followed him. "Liam, Liam MacDuncan!"

"What about him?" asked another wolf.

Kinnaird caught his breath, though was slow to speak. "The Sark of the Slough and Gwynneth the owl have taken him. He disturbed a hero mark. They said he had something to do with the dancing of the Skaars wolves."

"Who is Skaars?" Airmead whispered.

"A spirit that the wolves believe helps them into the cave of souls," Finola whispered. "Liam MacDuncan—he would never!"

A wolf growled. "He's been wondering off ever since this famine! He's left us all to starve." he glared at Airmead. "But _somehow_ that gnaw wolf is the only one in correct weight."

Finola nodded, stepping in front of her friend. "She did nothing wrong. Airmead has been catching her own food, such as mice and voles. You can't blame her for making you skinny."

"She ate without permission?" a wolf roared. "How is this gnaw wolf getting off better than we are?" By now, wolves seemed to close in around them.

"She should be killed for her crime!" howled a wolf. "Besides, her name is _Airmead_! She is barren; how does she get to eat more?"

Airmead stepped back, a puzzled expression across her face. "Airmead—barren? What are you talking about? I am not barren!" she bore her teeth, shoving her ears forward.

Another wolf gasped. "She is acting dominant! Claw her, claw her!"

Airmead growled again, rolling her eyes to see Adair trotting in to joint the fun. "I haven't been doing _anything_ wrong!" she staggered back as a wolf bit her paw. "Alasterine! Help me—please, get them away from me!"

"Your precious Alasterine is gone!" snarled Adair. "She is at the MacNammera clan, too far to hear your screams." He pounced upon her, sinking his teeth into her shoulder. With a howl and bark, Airmead shoved him to the ground, slashed him across the face, and bolted off to the east.

"She's running, she's running! The gnaw wolf knows her guilt!" the voices dwindled away, Airmead's own heart booming in her ears to block out their howls.

Airmead had been running for a while, but stopped by the river. She knew Finola was following her, but the brown wolf was not quite as fast as she. Airmead peered over the vast landscape, spotting the Ring of Sacred Volcanoes. Everything was so perfect there, and though food was still just as low, they seemed to be in harmony with one another.

Suddenly, Airmead began to feel the ground beneath her to shake, a strange twinge in her smallest paw. The trees about her began to quiver, and everything seemed to be erupting as the ground cracked. Airmead looked back to the Volcanoes—one by one, they began to collapse into themselves, lava spurting up into the air. The gnaw wolf screamed; what was happening to their world? She was too caught in this thought as a large spruce fell to her back, knocking her onto her side and sending her into an immense darkness.


	7. Chapter 7: The Watch

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolves of the Beyond or any of its original characters; Kathryn Lasky does**

Chapter 7

The Watch

Airmead awoke facing the west again, her head throbbing with pain. She looked down at her smallest paw—it was back to normal! Deep within her memory, she remembered Lilly speaking of a prophecy; once the embers within the Volcanoes were destroyed, gnaw wolves would no longer be malformed. "They were destroyed?" Airmead whispered, tears streaming from her eyes. She turned at a loud cracking sound that had been sounding off the entire time. What she saw shocked her.

A glacier had cracked off from somewhere and somehow had made its way to the Beyond, heading straight towards her! It was a wall: a giant wall of ice towering high above her, and making its way quickly across the landscape. Airmead kicked at the tree over her, trying to squeeze out. It was useless, even after clawing away at the wood with her teeth and claws; she was doomed to be pancaked by a giant glacier.

Just as she was about to lose hope, she felt the dirt behind her begin to clear away, giving her much more space. "Push! Run!" Finola screeched over the glacier's destruction, though she was barely heard. Airmead could barely hear her own panting or heart as she came loose, Finola joining her side as they raced towards the north—the glacier was only about two hundred yards away now, and the two wolves had little time to escape its path.

Airmead knew her paw was better, though the paw that was permanently injured still disabled her to run as fast as she could without it. Even so, she was outrunning Finola who seemed to be locking up with fear. "Run! Keep running, Finola!" Airmead screamed. Finola did not hear her, but knew what she was trying to say.

She galloped to Airmead's side, her muscles already beginning to wear out. "I… I can't, Airmead." she panted. "Find Alasterine! Rescue the Beyond!" She began to lag behind before collapsing in exhaustion and shock.

Airmead stopped, turning around, and grabbed Finola by the scruff. The scout only clawed at her friend to let her go, but Airmead refused to let her friend die. With a heavy pant, Airmead began to drag Finola away.

The gnaw wolf looked up as the glacier's shadow cast onto them. She still had many yards to go, and the truth was clear: they were done for. "Never give up!" a voice inside of her cried.

Suddenly, the voice came to life. "Never give up!" someone yelled, though the glacier covered most of it. A red colored wolf grabbed Finola as well, beginning to run out of the path of the glacier and farther away. Airmead was gaining speed now with this wolf's help with Finola, and at the last moment (though her tail was hit), they leaped out of the way of the glacier and onto some un-touched snow.

Airmead, though breathless, could not help but stare at everything. They entire land was destroyed. The earthquake had disturbed everything, and the glacier was unstoppably heading for the MacDuncan Clan. "Th…. Thank you…" Finola panted.

The red wolf helped Finola up, smiling weakly towards Airmead. "Hello, Airmead. I'm Janna, a friend of Finola, and an outflanker for the _byrrgis_."

"Pleasure," Airmead muttered, turning towards the Ring. "I know this is all shocking, but we have to get to the Volcanoes. Those are my kind: gnaw wolves who are respected. I dreamed of becoming one of them, and now they are crushed. We have to save them."

"What about Alasterine?" whimpered Finola. "The Broken Talon point is destroyed, and she was right next to it!"

"The needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few," Airmead barked. She stopped for a moment, nodding to herself. _I like that line_, thought she. "Now come on! We don't have much time; they could be dying or dead." Airmead led the way at a press-paw speed, enough for Finola (who was deadly tired) could catch up. The wolves did not realize how terrible the earthquake was until they began to see the dead bodies of wolves lying everywhere. "How could this have happened?" Airmead whispered to herself.

They entered the ring, ash and lava still covering everything. Airmead recognized no one, though Finola and Janna did notice some wolves they had seen in the _gaddergnaw_ games from before. "Malachy!" Finola cried, throwing herself beside a dark colored wolf who was smashed underneath a boulder. "How could this have happened? The Beyond is in ruin!"

"I found someone alive!" Janna exclaimed, standing over a light ash-colored wolf. "Sir, are you alright?"

Airmead looked about, spotting a cave not far away. "All the wolves need to go into the cave; then we can care for them." she watched Janna begin to drag the ash-wolf into the cave as she and Finola searched for more survivors of the Ring.

"Five," Airmead whispered, looking at the five survivors. "Five! How can that be?"

"How can what be?" asked the ash wolf, his eyes snapping open. He cringed at the pain in his back, licking his nose. He stopped at that—there was something wrong. "Who are you?" he stuttered, licking his nose countless times.

"MacDuncan wolves," Finola replied. "Be still, Watch wolf, for your back is very heavily wounded."

The wolf stuck his tongue out at them, his voice muffled as he spoke. "Do you see my tongue? What's up with it?"

Airmead stared at it for a moment before shrugging. "Nothing," she replied. "It's a perfectly fine tongue to my eyes."

"That's just it!" the wolf cried. "It is supposed to be forked. My tongue is forked, but now it is not! That means the embers were destroyed… the Watch is broken, is it not?" he sighed, whimpering. "Thank you for rescuing me." he mumbled after a moments pause.

An owl alighted besides Airmead, scaring a yip out of her, "Are they the only survivors?" he asked. It was a Snowy Owl, though his expression was filled with terror. Airmead jumped back, her teeth bared.

"What business does an owl have to speak to me?" she barked, her fir standing up on end.

"Airmead, owls come here all of the time," Finola explained. "He is not the owl who attacked you as a pup. Snowy, these are all the wolves we could find."

The Snowy nodded towards her. "Thank you, friend. My name is Tully. My friend Creakle, a once gnaw wolf, is heavily wounded and just collapsed outside of this den. We need help!" he led Janna out of the den for help, Airmead following.

As they dragged Creakle back into the den, Airmead's ears caught the strange sound of scratching. She turned, though saw nothing that was making this noise. "Hello?" she asked. "Where are you?"

A voice finally came out, desperate and whimpering. "In here!" it said, coming from a large crack in the ground. Airmead came to the void in the rocky ground, looking down to see a dark grey wolf peering up at her.

Airmead stumbled and at the same moment lowered both paws into the crack, keeping her hind legs clinging to a boulder. "Is your special observing jump enough to get you out, or have you tried?" she called.

"I tried many a time."

Airmead yipped as a claw came loose from the boulder, though she quickly regained grip. "See that root there? Grabbed it with your teeth when you jump, and then hold my paw. I'll try to lift you out." She prepared for his claws, but when the pain came, she tried her best to ignore it.

As she pulled him out, he seemed unwounded. "I was prepared for the fall, I guess," he panted. "Thank you, gnaw wolf. You are?"

"Airmead. I was named after my mother's cousin, the Obea." She turned and led him to the cave where the rest of the Watch Wolves were waking. "Finola, who is awake?"

Finola did not answer, but only spent her time tending to their wounds. "All of them seem to be, all but one." Tully explained. "It's unusual that this many survived."

"Yes," Creakle, another ash-colored wolf said. "Extraordinary, irregular, uncanny, peculiar, elusive—"

Tully pat his friend's shoulder with his wing. "Alright, Creakle. Don't waist your breath on vocabulary."

"So, who is who?" Airmead asked once Finola had stepped away from the wolf who used to have a forked tongue.

"This wolf here is Snowdon, who is lucky to be alive because of his back injury. That wolf there, the silver one, used to have no ears and is named Colleen. The poor guy's head is still severely wounded, and I'm not sure he'll make it. Over there, the red wolf is Briar, and he used to be missing an eye. And that tawny wolf there… that's Padraigh. He used to be missing one eye, one ear, and one paw all on his left side."

"Who is she?" Airmead asked, looking towards an unconscious black wolf who used to have only one forepaw.

"That is Leitha," the grey wolf who had come from the ditch explained. "I am Twist, a _taiga_."

Finola, Janna, and Airmead froze. "A _taiga_?" they stuttered. They quickly submitted, for he was a very experienced Watch wolf: a teacher. "Twist, you must help us recover any remaining wolves of the Beyond. The MacDuncans… the glacier was going straight for them."

Twist nodded. "We'll split up in groups of two. Remember—be careful! Briar, you are well enough to tend to these wolves' wounds. Tully, you go to the Nammera Clan. They are the most likely to have survived. Finola, you and I will go to the MacDonegal and MacAngus Clans, and Airmead and Janna go to the MacDuncan Clan. Let's go."

Airmead stepped into the remains of her home. It was destroyed, the dens collapsed and trees fallen onto dead wolves. "Janna," she broke the terrible silence. "You go into the _raghnaid_ and _gadderheal_ caves. I'll try to dig apart these others." They parted ways, Airmead trotting to a near by den that had collapsed into itself.

As she began to claw away, a wolf's head popped out, a dark silver. "What the—" he stopped at seeing Airmead. "What in the world just happened?"

"An earthquake. A glacier came through here and killed everyone. My friend and I are trying to uncover some survivors. I'm Airmead." She helped the wolf out, watching him shake the dirt from his silvery pelt.

He smiled, submitting to her. "I'm Taddeus. It's a pleasure, gnaw wolf."

Airmead nodded. "Yes, but the embers have been crushed. I was a _malcadh_ accidentally made, not born. All of the others are regular wolves now. The Watch has been crushed, and few Watch wolves still live. I am on a mission to rescue all survivors." She stopped at a rumble of rocks as a jumble of red fur stirred not far away. Airmead trotted to see, though it was not a pleasant sight. The first thing she saw was a severed paw lying on a blood trail to Adair who was curled up in a corner, tears of pain streaming from his eyes. "Lord Adair!" cried Taddeus, dragging him out of the rubble. Surprisingly, the wolf did not refuse their help.

Janna came rushing back, her hackles raised. "There are wolves trapped under rubble. Two are dead—come quickly!"

"Taddeus, take Adair somewhere save and tend to his paw. Find some moss to stop the bleeding, or maybe some bark. I'm coming, Janna!" The gnaw wolf raced after her, soon coming into the _raghnaid_ cave. Half of it was on the ground as a pile of rubble, though a few wolves stirred in it.

"Come on, Bryan," Janna said, helping a grey wolf out of the rocks. "Airmead, you get Kinnaird."

Kinnaird too was a dark gray like Taddeus, his flank tattered and bloody from the rocks. "Can you two walk well?" asked Airmead, licking their wounds.

Both nodded, and began to trot out into the fading day. They helped Taddeus wrap some rabbit-ear moss around Adair's leg remains before moving on. As they sun had just disappeared behind the purple horizon, they reached their cave at the Watch. Twist and Finola had returned from their search, only two by the looks of it. One was a large dull-red wolf, and the other a deep silver, not a speck of white on him (but a black tip to his tail). "Meet a MacDonegal wolf," Twist introduced the red wolf. "This is Brangwen, and over there is a once-gnaw wolf, Streak.

"My son should be back any moment now," Brangwen stated. "He is about your age, Taddeus." He nodded to the grey wolf. "There he is now!"

Airmead turned to see a wolf enter the den: he was red, like his father, with even deeper green eyes than she. He looked incredibly large for a famine, but it appeared to be because of his immense muscles that he used for hunting. "I found no meat," he said sadly, catching sight of Airmead. "This is Airmead, the wolf who saved us all? She is many times more beautiful than I had first anticipated." He smiled, introducing himself. "I am Brecco, son of Brangwen and Morag."

Airmead smiled back. "… As you know, I'm Airmead, the adopted daughter of Lilly. It's an honor to—"

Kinnaird stepped beside Airmead, staring at Brecco. "You are the son of who?" he asked firmly.

Brecco stuttered. "Brangwen and Morag, sir." he replied, suddenly timid.

Kinnaird's extremely upset gaze drifted to Brangwen. In a moment (a gasp coming up from the observing wolves), Kinnaird had pinned Brangwen to the ground with a fierce growl. "So the MacDonegal Clan; that's where she wondered off to? And to marry _you_, Brangwen?"

"Who?" Brangwen asked.

"Morag! My paw-fast mate!" Kinnaird roared with pure anger before being shoved off by Snowdon and Brecco. "Where is she now? Dead in the earth quake?"

Brangwen solemnly shook his head. "She died not long ago of sickness. She was blind." he and Brecco exchanged glances; it was a grave thing to speak of.

Snowdon uneasily stood. "Well, I propose we leave the Ring. I think we should leave the entire Beyond—search for a new home across the sea, if there is a way." he paused, waiting for an answer.

Creakle nodded. "Yes! I was around the Blood Watch not too long ago, and deep in the distance I saw another country, far across the ocean. There is a way." He gave a sudden spark of hope in each of their hearts.

"But what about Creakle, Snowdon, and Colleen? They are all wounded!" Padraigh barked. "How can we find more wolves if we take the time to heal?"

"We will find a way," replied Creakle. "And by the way, where is Tully? Is he back yet?" He shifted on his paws, for Tully was his good friend.

Airmead tried raising hope in the remains of the Beyond. "Don't worry," she smiled. "I'm sure he's on his way back."


	8. Chapter 8: Gnaw Wolf with a Purpose

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolves of the Beyond or any of its original characters; Kathryn Lasky does**

**Review!**

Chapter 8

Gnaw Wolf with a Purpose

It was a very dark and quiet night; quiet because of lost hope. All the remaining wolves of the Beyond (if there were others) were quiet on this night—their world was crashed, taking their dreams with it. "Stop worrying," Twist said. "I'm sure there is a reason for all of this. The strangest thing is, I'm not sure where the rest of the Watch Wolves went. Faolan and Edme have vanished, along with Myrr." He sighed with anger.

"Who is Myrr?" Airmead asked, raising her head from her paws.

"A little pup; Faolan saved him during the famine," explained Twist in a hushed voice, as if it were wrong to speak of them. "Not to mention Banja! She disappeared for long periods of time, and once I saw her (from atop my watch) flirting with this strange golden wolf—a Watch wolf, doing such a thing?" Twist snuffed as if he was sneezing. "I can't believe this has become of the Watch! The Beyond!"

"Don't worry, sir," said a dark wolf by the name of Streak. "I'm sure it'll all turn out just fine, it will. You ought to think happy thoughts. You'll get bonding with your fellow friends like you ain't ever had before, sir."

Adair barked with anger. "You Watch wolves have special skills we clan wolves don't have. How are we supposed to make it?" He looked down at his one paw, and then the other.

Padraigh and Creakle came to Adair's side, trying to encourage him. "We were both without one paw too," said Padraigh softly. "But we made it just fine. Anyone can be a Watch wolf."

"In fact," Creakle offered. "We could teach you how to run and walk with only one forepaw. I was without one my entire life, and Padraigh; he had one paw, one eye, and one ear!" He stepped into the middle of the group, raising his scratched voice. "I would like to make a proposal, a proposal to the Wolves of the Watch."

Twist looked at if Creakle were speaking directly to him, and nudged Airmead to pay close attention. "Continue," the murmur rose from the few wolves.

Creakle did so, now feeling more confident (though he wished Tully would return very soon). "Adair made a curious suggestion; we Watch wolves know how to survive because we were once gnaw wolves in a pack that tormented us, and now that we're at the Watch, we completed the _gaddergnaw_ games and learned out surveillance flips. So, with the remaining clan wolves, why not teach them the ways of the Watch? This is our chance to make gnaw wolves and clan wolves one: all of the same rank. No one has to submit, no one has to wait last to eat… we can all get out of here as friends, companions, and teachers. I say we teach each other how to survive as best we can and get out of here."

Each wolf gave a yip or howl of approval—all but Adair. Airmead was perplexed; wouldn't he be pleased with all of these Watch Wolves giving him help? Airmead was sure she would be. "Adair," she asked in a whisper, though felt she was upsetting him by not submitting. "Is there something wrong?"

"Countless things are wrong, gnaw wolf," he replied, his voice scratched as if he were crying. "My home is gone, my paw is destroyed and is painful more than you could imagine, and now my rank I have so long worked and dreamed for is gone, stolen by Alasterine and now destroyed along with the Beyond. And now you wolves that were once gnaw wolves, beaten and terrorized by the clan wolves… are trying to help us, wasting your time to make sure we survive. It's wrong; I hated gnaw wolves with all of my heart, and now…" he looked at his paw. "Now I _am_ a gnaw wolf. Why do you want to help the clan wolves?"

Airmead whimpered; had not Adair been taught about friendship, forgiveness, mercy? "We want to help you, because all of those years being tortured by you clan wolves, we grew loyal… we wanted to _be_ a clan wolf. As a gnaw wolf, I would stare with an aching heart at pups frolicking about their siblings, their parents… I would see their parents running in the _byrrgis_, working as one to help each other. 'I will be up there someday; I will be more than a gnaw wolf,' I thought. Well, I am. Everything, basically, is a _byrrgis_. This is the ultimate _byrrgis_. The Beyond is destroyed, and now it is my job, though an insignificant gnaw wolf, to lead you out of it. We're chasing life as it flees from the Beyond, and as one, we have to catch it and claim it. I can't leave even one wolf behind. Don't you understand how much a life is worth?"

The reddish wolf did not answer right away. He just stared down at his imaginary paw. "As a lord of a pack, the only lives that matter are that of the chieftain and myself."

"Nope!" Airmead shook her head. "Every life is just as important as another. That's why imagination is so important! I was surprised that you were upset as Alasterine came into your place. I can see how you would be angry if she were a bad wolf, but you don't know how bad she is until you get to know her. If you don't want to get to know someone, but you do know some of their past, put yourself in their position and think, 'What would my thoughts be if this happened to me?' Every life is the same, even the corrupt minds. A wolf like Heep is evil because of what his past experiences were. But our job could be to make more past experiences for him to change his thoughts. The way wolves think is based on your past: we can do something to those wolves to rid them of their bad thoughts and make them right. You are upset that you were rude to gnaw wolves."

"Upset?" Adair whined. "I would claw myself to death to make sure I had never done it… we're all the same now…"

"No! We were always the same. We gnaw wolves are different because of our deformities. But now matter how long you protest, it was not our faults. A gnaw wolf was once made a gnaw wolf yet treated the same as others, though not _born_ a gnaw wolf. She was a Wolf of the Watch, one of the most highly-ranked wolves in the Beyond, yet she was a gnaw wolf at one time. You were a gnaw wolf made as well, yet you still became a lord of a pack. You were important though still capable of being a gnaw wolf. So why make gnaw wolves less important if Watch Wolves are respected and you are one now? There is no reason! Every life is the same, and to take a life—that is the greatest crime of all."

Adair looked confused. "Wait… where did you get all of this?"

"Well, my first mother Lilly told me that every life is the same, but she never explained it like that because I wasn't old enough to understand. But once I became a gnaw wolf, I kind of caught on really quickly. Being alone and tormented kind of gets you thinking, especially about others." Airmead nuzzled his dirty fur. "So being humble _is_ the right thing to do: to put your life for someone else. That is why I would like to help you, though you're a clan wolf." She stood up. "You'd better get some rest. I can only imagine what it's like to have one paw!"

Janna trotted to Airmead's side, nuzzling her. "Don't worry too much about it, Airmead," she whispered. "I know it's been nearly four days, but I _know_ Alasterine will come back; Tully is a good and responsible owl."

"What if she's injured? Tully is an owl, and that means he can't take care of wounds like we wolves can. Oh… what if she _is_ dead, and Tully is too? How will we ever know?"

Twist sat beside her, growling. "Nonsense, Airmead. Tully knows what he's doing. And I'm sure the Namera survived and is helping Alasterine right now."

The three wolves took a step back closer to the cave as a white streak suddenly appeared before them as if dropping from the sky. "Tully!" they exclaimed joyously.

Tully looked awfully dizzy, and plopped down onto Airmead's paws. She stared down at him with large eyes and expectations, though one might say Tully's eyes were larger. "Well…?" Janna asked.

Twist set a paw behind Tully's head, pushing him back up. "Thank you, Twist," Tully shook his dizziness away before continuing. "Alright, here's the scoop. I told myself I'd come back with all of the surviving wolves who were able to walk, and I have."

There was a silence, the three wolves staring at him in bewilderment. "No one can walk?" Airmead inquired anxiously.

Tully nodded. "That's it! But don't be too happy or anything, because… well…"

The rest of the wolves began to crowd around, their ears open for this news. Tully looked as if he were shrinking back— he had no idea why, but they were going to attack him for this. "I only found _one_ survivor." He whispered in a high-pitched voice.

"What?" the word exploded from the small brigade. "Who?"

Tully smiled. "That's just the miracle. They all looked extremely dead, but I checked them all anyway. Alasterine was alive! She definitely _looked_ dead with a head injury and leg injury, but she's still right as rain, whatever that means."

Questions burst out, though Tully shushed them all in a moment. "One at a time…" he muttered with a stressed voice. He smiled again, pointing to Twist. "You first."

"What happened to the Namera?"

Tully lost his smile, frowning. "I don't think you want to know that, Twist. I'll tell you anyway—she was standing atop a platform, or something of the like, when the earth quake occurred. It rumbled, and there were splits were coming up from the ground. One threw her against another super sharp one… she was impaled."

A loud gasp rose up—the Namera dead? "Impossible!" a bark declared. It was Brangwen; the Namera was his alpha who he had trusted with Morag.

"Where is Alasterine now?" Finola whimpered.

Tully pointed with a wing to the north. "She's in a den about a mile north of here. I told her to get some rest while I went for help."

"Good work, Tully!" Twist smiled. "Leitha, Padraigh—whoever else wants to go—y'all help Alasterine get back here in one piece. The rest of us need to tend to the wounded or get some game." He trotted into the den to check on Snowdon and Colleen, but Airmead only sat in awe. Her home was destroyed, the MacDuncans gone, the Ring destroyed, and now the Namera, the bravest wolf there ever was, was impaled on a sharp boulder. How could this be?

Brecco came to her side, his hears flat against his head. "Airmead?" he asked, sitting down. "I'm sorry this is all happening. It must be even harder for a gnaw wolf with such dreams for life."

Airmead cocked her head to one side. "I had dreams for life, such as being a true wolf in a _byrrgis_, but some dreams just fade away one you find out your real purpose."

"Your real purpose? To be a gnaw wolf?"

Airmead looked at him as if he were crazy. "A gnaw wolf? Are you _cag mag_? Of course not! To be a gnaw wolf is to… well… there's no comparison with _that_. But my purpose is to help, as everyone's should be. It seems selfish to do things for yourself all of the time while there are others dying. I think I am called to be a leader. This is my purpose: to lead. I guess I'm just not quite used to it yet: leading all the remains of the Beyond. I saved them, I'd like to lead them, but find out your real purpose kind of slaps you in the face at first. It's kind of hard."

Brecco nodded. "Oh," he murmured. "Well… what's my purpose?"

Airmead gazed into his green eyes with a smile. "That's not for me to decide."


	9. Chapter Nine: A Raghnaid Meeting

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolves of the Beyond or any of its original characters; Kathryn Lasky does**

**Review!**

Chapter Nine

A _Raghaid_ Meeting

Airmead whimpered, nudging the cheek of Alasterine. The old wolf was looking happy for her condition. "I'm so sorry I couldn't be there to help you," said the gnaw wolf. "Twist appointed me to hunt, and I just—"

"Don't waist your breath, Airmead. Everything is alright, so there's no need to fret any longer." Alasterine sighed, her eye lids apparently heavy. "I think I need some rest, though I've been unconscious for a lot of the last twenty four hours. You go run along, now."

Airmead stepped back as Alasterine fell silent, getting a few beautiful moments of true sleep. Brecco was already behind Airmead, startling her. "Yes, Brecco?" Airmead asked, sounding angry of his presents.

He did not reply immediately, but looked puzzled. "Am I bothering you?" he finally asked.

Airmead burst out laughing, though Brecco could tell there was barely any true laughter in it. "Now, Brecco, why would you ever think you were bothering me?" Her enthusiastic expression disappeared in a moment.

Brecco hung his head, looking back at her until she could see the white in his eyes. It was obvious he was embarrassed with an attempt to look innocent. "I'm just being friendly, you know…" he mumbled. "I _thought_ someone like you would like some company."

The gnaw wolf groaned the slightest. "Listen, Brecco—put yourself in my position: I'm a gnaw wolf. If you've ever seen a gnaw wolf before, you should get what I'm trying to tell you. Though I doubt someone like you could say how a gnaw wolf thinks."

"That you never, ever associate with wolves and aren't very bouncy with joy because you've never had anyone to socialize with?" Brecco suggested in one quick breath.

Airmead looked surprised, for he was right. "Yes… yes, I suppose you're correct on that."

He began to follow her as she slowly walked towards the exit of the cave. "No, I nailed it, and you're upset because you are always trying to look smart and pitiful."

Airmead swung back around, their noses almost touching. "Or maybe I really am smart and pitiful and you're just extremely proud of yourself because, for once, you made a statement that actually made sense. Plus, you said it to a smart pitiful gnaw wolf who has proven herself more than just a gnaw wolf so you're super proud of yourself for smarting _her_ off. Am I right?" Brecco opened his mouth to speak before being caught in a thought. He let out his breath with a sigh, frowning. "Ah, I see. That's a very interesting reply." Airmead, again, turned around and walked away.

Brecco jumped as Streak appeared beside him, staring him down with an odd look. "You like her, don't you?" he asked.

The MacDonegal let out one of the laughs that means "what are you talking about, that's ridiculous," which gave him up. He continued in that laugh for a moment before suddenly cutting it off with a grimace. "Yes I do," he answered.

Streak nodded with understanding. "Yes, I know how you feel. Only it was worse for me. I had a crush on that silver colored female who died during the famine. She was a bit younger than I was, but I sure loved her. I was going to ask her to become my paw-fast mate… 'till she turned out to be dying." he fell silent, whimpering. "At least I got to tell her I loved her. Her brother said she would have lived longer if I hadn't come into the den. But remember this: you're not a gnaw wolf, so she's nothing you can't win."

"_I'm_ not the gnaw wolf, but _she_ is."

Streak laughed. "And who do you suppose is going to make her follow those rules anymore? Adair? She'd easily beat _him_ in a fight!"

"Perhaps your right!" sighed Brecco. "I guess she won't be anything difficult after all."

"Or, perhaps, you should remember that I have ears too (and claws)!" Airmead glared at him from a few yards off.

Streak and Brecco exchanged embarrassed glances. Brecco sighed angrily and turned away to find his father while Streak burst out laughing. The wolves all became still as a different wolf entered the scene. He looked very much like Brecco and Brangwen: a red color, only brighter with a hint of gold. His eyes were a light green, and his smile meek and worried. Still, he appeared to be a brave (but small) wolf of the Beyond. "H-Hello…" he smiled, nodding towards the wolves as he shifted the weight on his paws. "Is this basically a safe haven?"

"Absolutely!" Finola and Airmead chorused. "Let me take you into the cave; you are?" Airmead approached him, not even beginning to think about submitting.

"Aldwyn," the wolf replied. "Aldwyn MacAngus."

Leitha's eyes grew. "Aldwyn MacAngus… the _chieftain_?"

Aldwyn's expression flipped to serious. "Nope, the other one." He smiled at the silence before nodding. "Yes, Leitha, the chieftain. You Watch Wolves don't know how great it is to _actually_ come here. I've only dreamed of it! I always look forward to the _gaddergnaw_ games, though I've only been twice."

"Well…" Briar moaned. "The wolves you see now aren't all Watch Wolves. Brangwen, Brecco, and Streak over there are from the MacDonegal Clan, Airmead, Finola, Taddeus, Kinnaird, Adair—"

"The wolves of there," Brecco interrupted.

Briar shot him a glare before continuing. "…The wolves over there are from the MacDuncan, and Creakle is basically a loner. Tully's from Ga'Hool, of course."

There was a silence, the wolves all shuffling on their paws. "Well!" Snowdon exclaimed with an excited tone. "I say we all get settled and be social. Agreed?" There was a small murmur of agreement amongst the wolves as they began to move about again.

Creakle made his way through the rest of the wolves, now impressed with how many were assembled. It appeared there were nineteen of them, including Tully. "Um, Twist sir, may I ask for a _raghnaid_? There's a matter I would like to bring into consideration."

Twist turned towards him with a concerned look. "Why, why is everyone asking _me_ for permission? I'm just a _taiga_."

"Only? You're the _last_ taiga of the entire Beyond that we know of. You're pretty important. Besides, who would you like me to ask?"

Twist examined the area. "Well, how about Aldywn? He's young and is probably still in his right mind. Or maybe Airmead; without her, we'd all be dead."

Creakle was surprised; one of the highest ranking wolves of the Beyond was suggesting he be ignored, and that a gnaw wolf be asked for a decision. "Um… alright, Twist," Creakle turned away and began to trot towards Airmead, Twist on his heels. "Airmead, it is Twist's proposal that I ask you if we can have a _raghnaid_."

Airmead looked confused. "…Okay…?" she confirmed, her voice high-pitched.

Twisted wheeled back around, raising his voice. "Wolves of the Beyond! Those who are not inside the cave already, please enter it. We're assembling a _raghnaid_ meeting." Twist turned back to Creakle (Tully was with him now), and the three of them quickly made their way back to the cave.

After a long moment of organizing themselves and making each other comfortable, the wolves looked to the side of the cave where Creakle stood. "Alright, now that we're assembled…" Crackle cleared his throat. "…I can begin. To start off, I know the thought has cross all of our minds: what are we supposed to do? We can't keep up with hiding at the ring in starvation. If the remaining wolves of the Beyond did not survive this cataclysmic event, neither did the food we need to survive. As I have said before (though some of you were not present to hear it), I was standing upon the Blood Watch, staring off into the north-west, when I spotted the ocean. I could see, far in the distant ocean, land. It looked blue in the light, but it did look promising as well. Also, on the way there, I could see a long, shimmering bridge of ice lying across the ocean! So, in my thought, there _is_ in fact a way to get to that strange land.

"So, a faithful wolf of the Beyond, I say we get out of this broken land and head to that distant country together. I say we forget ourselves and try to get _one another_ out of here. There's still hope!"

"…Leave the Beyond?" Bryan asked. They were all wondering the same thing.

Airmead stood up, walking to join Creakle at the front. "He's right. We have to, or else we go extinct."

"What if the Outclanners get there first and claim it _their_ land? We can't let that happen." said Creakle.

Airmead shook her head. "No. A thousand years go, give or take a few years, the first Fengo led the remains of a country here. That's how the Beyond was claimed. Then the Outclanners rebelled; they aren't one of us. But those wolves had to leave their home behind as well, no matter how sacred it was. Besides, Fengo had to have come from _somewhere_, right? It's clear he came from somewhere not part of the Beyond, and still it was capable of getting here. The only logical explanation is that he came from the Distant Country, across the Ice Bridge, and here. That makes the Distant Country our land, not the Outclanners. Even if they do get there first, we can explain that to them. There's no worry except for the chances of drowning and starving. I say we do it!"

"Drowning and starving are two things, both very hard to ignore." Brecco spoke up. "You suggest we forget them?"

Airmead put on her rude voice just for him. "So what, Brecco? You suggest we stay here and survive on our food that doesn't exist? There's a world right in our grasp, and we're ignoring it!"

"Airmead, you've made your point. Cool it." demanded Twist firmly.

Brecco put on his innocent face again. "I'm just saying, some of us are going to die."

"Well I'm just saying we're all going to die if we just sit here. Which would you prefer?"

Twist drew Airmead roughly aside. "Airmead, he's just being precautious. That's an especially good thing to do in these situations. Just hear him out."

Airmead took a deep breath. "Sorry, Twist. I just have a grudge against Brecco right now. I'll try to control myself."

"Good girl," Twist turned back to the assembled wolves. "Alright, all in favor of leaving come forward."

Airmead was relieved as a the wolves began to stir. Leitha, Brangwen, Kinnaird, Adair, Alasterine, and Streak came and joined the wolves at the front, leaving the rest puzzled. Janna was next to slowly get up, and then Finola, Aldwyn, and Snowdon. It was only a moment before Brecco was sitting on the other side of the cave alone. Airmead finally spoke up, "Slap me if I'm wrong, but I think, Brecco, you're outnumbered."

The red MacDonegal wolf stared her in the eyes as he rose, walked a few paces, and sat down beside his father. "There," he glared at her. "Someone slap her for me."

Streak leaned in to him. "Brecco, you were still outnumbered. That doesn't make any sense." he whispered.

Brecco snapped at the gnaw wolf to shoo him away before turning back to the leaders: Twist and Airmead. "Well, then it's decided," Twist declared. "We'll leave for the Distant Country once Snowdon, Alasterine, Colleen, and Creakle are up for the task. In the mean time, we must do our finest in hunting for one another to build our strength. _Raghnaid_ dismissed."


	10. Chapter 10: Mind Field

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolves of the Beyond or any of its original characters; Kathryn Lasky does**

**Review!**

Chapter Ten

Mind Field

_Guts,_ Airmead thought, _I need guts to do this._ Her expression turned to stern. _Take a deep breath, and do it._ She did as she was told before taking her first step towards Brecco. One after another, Airmead was sitting beside him, glancing at him anxiously. "If you give me one sarcastic remark after this…" she began.

"I won't," Brecco cut her short. "Continue."

She took another deep breath, glaring at him again. "…I'm sorry I snapped at you during the _raghnaid_. It was wrong of me; you were giving us facts we should have paid heed to. I should have listened. I'm sorry."

Brecco smiled. "Apology accepted," he replied. "But what about when we smarted each other off before that? Aren't you sorry about _that_ too?"

"Oh, _I_ need to be sorry for that?" Airmead laughed. "You insulted me!"  
"You insulted me too."

"Alright, alright…" Airmead sighed. "I see what you mean. But I'm not sorry. You were being a jerk and need that."

Brecco laughed, staring at her as if she were an idiot. "And you didn't need any insulting either? Get real, Airmead."

Airmead nudged him with her muzzle, laughing. "Brecco, we both made our point. Happy?"

"I'm happy you finally apologized after the _raghnaid_. It's been five days since that, and you were the first to apologize. Of course, that's because you were the only one who did anything wrong."

"If that was sarcasm I might not claw you."

Brecco hung his head, nodding soberly. "Sarcasm, definitely. I can't believe you would assume that I would say something like that." He shook his head in shame at her.

"Well, let's just get one thing straight. You're stupid, and you always have been." Airmead said before the both of them began laughing.

Leitha growled, her black hackles standing up. "Airmead and Brecco, enough with the sarcasm!" she demanded angrily.

Airmead trotted towards her, glancing back at Brecco. "Don't worry, Leitha, I wasn't being sarcastic." She and Leitha began laughing at Brecco's shocked expression, and neither of them could stop.

It was nearly a minuet later, and still Leitha and Airmead laughed at Brecco's angry expression, no stopping to them. "Augh!" Brecco exclaimed finally. "If you two don't stop laughing, I'm going to kill myself with anger!" he shrieked.

Leitha and Airmead fell silent, exchanged wide-eyed glances, and then burst out laughing harder; hoping Brecco would be true to his word. The red wolf only walked away angrily, both girls continuing to laugh.

-Later-

Aldwyn stared at Airmead as she stared up at the cave ceiling, the dull sky towards the mouth of the cave, and then to the chieftain. He was obviously the most anxious of them all. "So, do you think we can actually do it?" he asked anxiously.

"Of course we can," Airmead smiled, walking towards him. He only looked a few moon cycles older than she, yet he acted like a pup going on its first hunt. "You'll be alright."

Aldwyn gave a little laugh of anxiety, hanging his head as he lowered his voice. "It's not me I'm worried about. My pack is all dead after my father passed away, and it's my responsibility to make sure the wolves of the Beyond make it to this Distant Country."

"Friends!" Creakle cried, drawing their attentions. "Twist and I have decided that we make rankings for this brigade. Twist, Airmead, and Aldwyn are our leaders."

Aldwyn's face would have become even redder if he had no fur. "_Three_ leaders? I say we have one, a substitute, and a sub's sub. I'll be the Sub-Sub, but I think Twist and Airmead should decide who should be the actual Leader."

Both wolves exchanged glances, blushing. "Well…" Airmead muttered. "I _am_ a gnaw wolf. Besides, you're the last _taiga_. You'll be Leader."

Twist snuffed, glaring at her. "No way, Airmead. It's a great honor to be Leader, which definitely means you should be. I am not fit to lead; I am meant to follow. But I can tell, looking into your eyes, you were _meant_ for this."

"Twist, I was meant to be a gnaw wolf. That is my position as a wolf, and I want to stay that way."

"But being a Leader _is_ being submissive, isn't it?" Twist asked in a hushed voice.

There was a silence among the Brigade until Padraigh broke it excitingly. "I say they compete for it! We could use some action around here, couldn't we?"

The wolves burst into agreement, each of them nodding (especially Brecco). "Alright, alright…" Twist grumbled. "What tests?"

"Mind field!" Janna burst out. "The Beyond just had an earth quake, so everything is different."

"Doesn't that give Twist the easier chance of winning?" Finola suggested. "I mean, he's a trained Watch wolf who was fast in the first place, and now has a regular paw. He's going to be _really_ fast now."

Twist nodded. "Yes, but I am aging quickly. Airmead is a young wolf who knows how to use her twisted paw. She just regained her paw again as well. I think we are evenly matched. Are you up for it, Airmead?"

She smiled hesitantly. "Sure…" she laughed. "But if I am slow or trip, I will not have you slowing down for me to catch up, alright? We both try our hardest, no matter what… unless the other falls into a ditch and dies."

"Agreed!" Twist nodded. "So, where to?"

Taddeus gasped. "I know! Make it long—make it exciting. To the ocean and back!"

"And _back_?" shrieked Twist and Airmead. "That's far!"

Snowdon shrugged, his tail beginning to thump with excitement. "Yes! That's what makes it fun and exciting, isn't it? Now come on; lets find somewhere to start the race." Snowdon limped away, the hubbub and wolves galloping after him.

Twist and Airmead stood just outside the Ring, reluctantly glancing towards the east: to their course. It was a few hundred yards to the shores, though at the shoreline the glacier had thrown debris, causing their path to be difficult. Though from the place they stood to the debris, the land was flat and easier. "Ready?" Aldwyn asked, his voice quivering.

Airmead and Twist stood a few paces away from one another, matching their paws to the same starting line (Brecco had drawn a some-what straight like with his claws on the gravel), and the two gazed down the hill. "On your mark…" Brecco said dramatically. "Get set…" he paused and took a big gasp and jerk, making the two think they were to start. He laughed as they jolted the slightest, glaring at him. The moment they did, he finished: "Go!" he shrieked.

Both wolves threw themselves into action, racing down the hill. Airmead was doubtful; she did not even want to be Leader, she just wanted the wolves of the Beyond to be safe. She was jerked back into reality at the sight of Twist ahead of her, leaving her in the dust.

_You may not want to be Leader,_ Airmead thought, _but you still have to try your hardest!_ With that in mind, her paws quickened their pace until Twist began to come to Airmead's side. He was surprised to see her quickly advancing on him, and quickened his own pace. She did the same, their sides nearly bumping into each other. "What's up, _taiga_?" Airmead asked, going into a stronger throttle.

Unfortunately, Twist was not going into his strongest either. He quickly caught up with her, both staring at the other's pace until debris snapped at them. At this Twist took the lead, for Airmead could not think. She had forgotten how Twist was at observing things; he did have the upper hand.

The ground smoothed again just as their paws stamped into sand. They swerved, Twist getting a better turn and leaping back into action. He barely heard the splash as Airmead flipped head over tail into the ocean. Airmead would have stepped on his paws if he were close enough; he laughed accidentally. Ignoring the saltiness in her eyes, Airmead threw herself out of the ocean and back into the forest of debris. The sea seemed to burned her eyes. _I can't see!_ Airmead whimpered. _What am I supposed to do?_ _I will have faith—faith without seeing._ Airmead shut her eyes, salty tears streaking from them. Her paws spread farther and farther as she ran—bound—flew (it seemed, but wolves don't have wings) towards the finish. It was obvious Twist won.

Airmead let out a bark as she ran into something, and at that she opened her eyes. Her vision was still blurry, but her tears had decontaminated some of the salty water. She sat panting for a while, knowing she had run into Brecco. He must have run back towards her to take care of her; maybe thinking she was in trouble with her eyes closed. But that was when she saw the rest of the Brigade coming in closer, for they had backed away from her thinking she would hit them. Airmead looked at them with confused eyes, and for many seconds wondered what was going on. That was when Twistling came to a halt by her side, startling her. "Well…" he panted breathlessly. "You're fast for your age!"

"Airmead, how did you do that?" Leitha whispered. "That was like flying. We thought you were going to run into us." She smiled meekly. "You won, though."  
"I _did_?"

Brecco laughed. "Of course you did; Twist ran up behind you. You sped up here like an eagle."

"I'm not even sure _I_ could go that fast," said Tully. "You're a winner, pup."

Airmead uneasily turned to Twist. "Sorry, Twist. I didn't know I could go that fast. I wouldn't have raced you if I had."

"Don't mention it! I love a challenge every once and a while."

"The Beyond is a challenge right now, and I'm sure you don't need another one." Airmead smiled. "I guess we're leaving the Beyond now, then. Tomorrow morning, I suggest. Agreed?"

"Why are you asking? You're the Leader!"

-Later-

Alasterine was sure to give Airmead many licks and yip of encouragement that night. But the gnaw wolf was timid and shocked that she had beat a _taiga_ in anything. Twist congratulated her every now and then just to keep her hopes up. The next morning, they were leaving everything they ever knew for a world forgotten for a thousand years.

-Later-

"Ready to go, everyone?" Airmead shouted, her legs shaking.

"Affirmative!" Leitha called from the back.

Airmead looked up to the white wings of an owl. "Tully, head count!" she shouted.

There was a silence, some wolves hearing Tully counting under his breath. "Nineteen, Airmead, including myself! We're good to go!" Tully answered, circling them in the gray sky.

Airmead, again, looked back at the Brigade. Twist and Aldwyn came to her side, and together, the Brigade set off towards the Distant Country.


	11. Chapter 11: The Sark of the Slough

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolves of the Beyond or any of its original characters; Kathryn Lasky does**

**Review!**

Chapter Eleven

The Sark of the Slough

Airmead though she was doing well so far; of course, the Beyond was probably not their biggest obstacle of them all: the Ice Bridge would probably trial them most of all.

Aldwyn wandered to the back of the Brigade to make sure none strayed, though Creakle assured him Tully had it covered. It seemed too strange; most wolves (young, especially) would be eager and even hurt to become a chieftain. Aldwyn had no wishes to lead; he was too humble to do anything, it seemed.

"Airmead," Twist began. "Where are you leading us to? It seems we're going to the Slough."

"We are…" Airmead replied anxiously. "I know we're wasting time and strength. I wanted to see if the Sark was there. She means a lot to me… I'd probably be dead without her." Twist nodded in understanding, giving Airmead a slight feeling of pleasure. She had friends now to respect and love her—what more could she ask for?

The opening to the cave neared them quickly, for not quite yet had their strength left them. It was dark in the Sark's cave, and she was no where to be found. "Maybe she left?" Briar suggested.

"I hope so," responded Airmead. She set her nose to the ground, trying to pick up a scent. "I smell her here! She was lying here, along with some other many scents of pottery, I think. And Faolan! I smell him, Edme…"

"Myrr!" Leitha gasped. "I smell the pup Myrr!"

Taddeus smelled as well, his eyes filling with tears. "Oh my goodness…" he whispered, his voice cracking.

"Taddeus? What's wrong?" Janna asked, brushing her muzzle on his cheek to make him feel better.

"Mhairie!" Taddeus cried, sniffing the floor again. "Dearlea! My goodness, they were here! They were here!"

"Creakle, I don't think you're the only one who saw the Distant Country." Twist said quietly. "I think Faolan and Edme have gotten some wolves and are heading there as well. I guess they took the Sark with them!"

Airmead gave a sigh of relief, her tail wagging. The Sark was safe, as well as many other wolves of the Beyond. They all felt relaxed at the thought that the Sark of the Slough was alright (thought she was creepy), when Alasterine barked. "What is it?" Twist sounded angry as he whirled around, though he understood. Standing at the mouth of the cave (dramatically, as Airmead thought) stood a wolf looking nearly identical to Brecco. _Great, like we need another red wolf, _Airmead thought angrily. She rolled her eyes before taking a step closer.

"Hello…?" she asked, now sounding sweet.

Twist gasped, grabbed Airmead by the scruff, and dragged her back. "Get away from her!" he cautioned. "That is Andreen."

Airmead jerked away with a concerned look. "Twist, I'm fine. Who is Andreen anyway?"

The wolf grimaced. "A repenting criminal, thank you very much." She took a step closer, causing each of them to take a step back. "I don't bite, you know."

"Yes, but you did," snarled Alasterine.

Andreen lowered her head shame, lifting one paw. It was nearly crippled from being bitten so many times. "I think Katria taught me my lesson, not to mention Grizz."

"Grizz…?"

"Yes! The leader of the bears," Twist explained quickly. "Andreen is the wolf assigned to kill Grizz! She is an Outclanner now."

Andreen submitted with a small smirk on her face, only rousing their suspicions even more so. "Yeah, that's what happened. Every wolf I've come in contact with has tried to kill me. Sadly, the Outclanners too. So I think I'd like to be a wolf of the Beyond. The MacHeaths? Yeah, I thought they thought of me as a team member. But once I 'died,' I was known as a disgrace to nature. Especially to my friends. I mean, you have no idea how humiliating it is to die on a mission with your friends watching, especially to be killed by being sat on a bear."

Brecco laughed. "Andreen, I'm pretty sure you _are_ a disgrace to nature. To life—to just about everything."

Airmead shot him a glare before softening back to Andreen. "Well, this sounds absolutely stupid and ridiculous, but I trust her. She said she doesn't want to be an Outclanner—not to be with the MacHeaths… right, Andreen?"

The Outclanner frowned. "I hate the MacHeaths! Fretta was my friend… my leader… when I died, the first and only think she did to me the moment she could get close enough to my dying body was spit on me. I know right from wrong, and I intend to do what is right now. If y'all are getting out of here, I'm coming with you." She shuffled the weight on her paws; would they except someone who had attempted murder?

"I like her," Aldwyn said from the back.

The last _taiga_ shook his head. "I say we leave her behind to suffer for her crime."

Airmead accidentally let out a growl at Twist. "Andreen is coming with us. We'll accepted her as a wolf of the Beyond. She's never known what was right because of her pack. Besides, what ever happened to second chances?"

Andreen smile for a moment before looking about. "Well, where are you going?"

"To a Distant Country far away. It'll take guts and strength, and if you're up for it, you can come with us." Airmead explained. "I think we should best be getting our way. Oh, and Andreen, did you see the Sark leave in the last previous days?"

Andreen looked to the floor with a sigh, cocking her head to the outside of the cave. "Follow me," she finally said, turning away out of the cave.

Twist gave an anxious look to Airmead, but the leader of the Brigade slowly followed the criminal away. For a few moments they trotted down the hill until coming to a beautiful grove of trees, still beholding he true beauty of the Beyond. In the center of this grove was a small but wide mound of dirt, as if the dirt had been taken out and then set back again. "What is this?" Airmead asked quietly, hearing the rest of the Brigade approach behind her.

"It is a grave," Andreen replied. "The grave of the Sark of the Slough."


	12. The Spirit Woods and Crystal Plain

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolves of the Beyond or any of its original characters; Kathryn Lasky does**

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Chapter Twelve

The Spirit Woods and Crystal Plane

"I felt it wrong to leave her dead," Andreen whimpered. "She had pieces of her memory jugs all around her, and we all know how much she treasures those. They're all in there with her; she was a good soul." With a whimper, she turned back towards the north-west. "What's our course?"

Airmead was still distraught in this news, but tried to pull herself together. Well, we were to go _on_ the glacier. So we'll head north of here until the Frost Forest in not far to the west of us. Then through the Outermost and across an Ice Bridge to the Distant Country; that is our rout. I… I suggest we get moving right away." She began to lead the Brigade away, Tully continuing to circle above them.

During the day, they kept a steady pace to the north-west, continuously taking any breaks (Snowdon was ashamed to have to stop because of his back). By the end of the day, they had begun their trek onto the glacier. "I'll keep watch while the rest of you sleep," said Tully happily.

"Oh, but Tully, you've been flying all day!" Creakle repined. "Why don't you get some rest and _I _stand watch?"

"Creakle," Tully frowned. "Go to sleep. You need the rest."

Creakle reluctantly say down beside his fellow travelers, glancing up at the clouded stars. At least, maybe, they would have some memory of the Beyond in the sky.

* * *

"My… paws… are tired, and wet, and cold, and tired, and cold, and wet… and I _hate_ it." Taddeus panted, dragging his paws at the back of the Brigade.

"Pick up your pace!" Aldwyn was beginning to actually sound like a leader now, and stayed at the back to keep those who were tired keep up. "Your part of a dying species; keep yourself alive and brave. We're almost there, anyways. Just another day or two until we're somewhere close to the Ice Bridge."

Airmead came to a stop at a strange crackling sound, and looked underneath her paws. There was a long crack from beneath her, for apparently the ice was ready to bust. "Be careful!" Airmead called. "This ice looks as if it could break at any moment. Watch your step." She walked on, stopping again at the sight of a large opening in the ice: something had fallen through. "Oh no! What could have happened?"

Twist looked excited. "Yes!" Twist exclaimed, his nose to the ground. "I smell Banja! I smell another pup I'm not familiar with, Myrr, Mhairie, Dearlea, and Faolan!" his excitement drained. "But where is Edme?"

"Maybe she…" Airmead suggested, gazing down into the dark blue chasm in the ice. "I smell her! Right beside his hole. Look! There are claw marks on the side of this hole. I think they pulled her out somehow. Maybe they're close by."

With that happy thought, they Brigade continued quickly. By nightfall they reached the toe of the glacier, and there they slept. Airmead knew she smelled Faolan closer this time, though could she make it to the Ice Bridge in time to catch him? Maybe not, maybe so, but she could only wait for time to go on. All she truly knew was that she was scared.

The journey started bright and early the next morning. The forest they trudged through was thick and confusing, and for a long time they lost sight of one another. All in a single file line, Airmead would say her name. "Airmead!" she yipped. And all down the line the message went.

"Twist,"

"Brangwen,"

"Brecco,"

"Kinnnaird,"

"Byran,"  
"Taddeus,"  
"Adair,"

"Janna,"  
"Finola,"  
"Alasterine,"

"Streak,"  
"Brair,"

"Snowdon,"

"Padraigh,"

"Colleen,"  
"Leitha,"

"Creakle,"  
"Andreen,"  
"Aldwyn,"  
There was a long pause until a faint voice from above cried: "Tully!" he screeched.

This caused a few laughs out of some of the brigade, though silence overcame them again. No more reports came from Tully, but only the day went on slowly and very cold. Trees became thicker until they were scratching against the thin wolves' pelts and skin, sharp yips escaping a few of the travelers. They were only a few miles away from their world, and on to the next.

"How do we look, Tully?" Airmead asked as twilight broke, looking up to the dark figure in the sky.

"I can't see much!" was the muffled reply. "All I can see is white—a long world of white just in front of us."

Echoing sighs of anger rippled throughout the brigade, though Airmead pressed on for more. "No more trees?" she asked.

"No more trees. You'll come out maybe a mile from your current location."

No complaining came this time. The wolves quickened their pace through the thick trees, for this had kindled for them hope. And Tully was proved right; in a few minutes they were out of the forest (known as the Spirit Woods) and moved on. Before them was a blazing white plain of snow, which appeared like crystals. "That's bright!" Airmead whimpered, blinking many a time. "I don't know that we can travel across it."

"We can," Twist protested. "Not by day… even at dusk it is too bright. By day it shall be like the entire world in fire. But let's move along; we cannot waist our precious night hours."

With that said, they began at a press-paw pace once more. After many hours this became a very tiring speed, slowing them down to a regular trot. Twist was afraid they would not make it to the other side by morning, and they did not. "Dawn!" Finola cried, looking back to the east. "Run!"

It was no use. The field soon lit up like fire, nearly blinding them. "Close your eyes!" Airmead cried. "Into a single file line. Airmead!"

"Twist!"

"Brangwen!"  
And so on. They went on blindly for a long time at a slow walk, the snow beneath them shining brighter and brighter as the day progressed. Soon they nearly toppled over one another as Airmead face-planted in the lead, Twist soon tripping over her. "Airmead, girl, are you alright?" Twist asked, his eyes still shut.

"I'm fine," she replied angrily. "What did I trip over?" She felt with her paws at a mound of snow and claw marks. "What is this?"

"I'm picking up a scent!" Twist exclaimed. "It's Faolan and Edme! I'll follow it."

Airmead heard Twist sniff around for a while before his sounds dwindled away. His voice rang again, though echoing off of walls. "In here! There's a giant den here in the snow."

The wolves, in a line still, followed his voice into a large and lively den where they all opened their eyes. It was a relief; the brigade before, led by Faolan, was making good time and had made this den themselves. "Let's get some sleep," Airmead suggested, curling up. "We'll need it for the long night of traveling for us tomorrow." She set her head on her paws, took a deep breath, and drifted off into a deep sleep.

* * *

The moon lit up the snow beneath their paws, making it a very enjoyable journey. The broken Beyond was behind them, and barely in the distance if they looked back, the Crooked Back Ridge could be seen.

By dawn the next morning they were walking upon damp dirt, the Crystal Plain miles behind. Now was some sort of open country of nothingness leading to the ocean. It was boring, though beautiful.

Airmead came to a stop, a silence welling up. At her paws were the lapping waves of the ocean, cold and salty. And to her right was a giant thick bridge of solid ice, stretching on for miles to the north-west. The wind was cold and bit at her, though it was filled with the fragrance of the sea. It caused her to close her eyes, absorbing the sounds, smells, and feelings of the end of her world. Never again would she set paw onto the Beyond, the world they had treasured for a thousand years.

"Ladies first," Brecco stepped back from the blue, slick Ice Bridge, causing Airmead to open her eyes.

She shoved by him, stepped onto the Bridge, and began to trot upon it. Reluctantly, the other wolves stepped on after her onto their new path, and again traveled on. The wind was harsh up high on the towering bridge of ice, causing them to bunch up to make a wall for the others, blocking the cold wind. Behind them was their world, and ahead were dangers unknown.


	13. Chapter 13: The Distant Country

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolves of the Beyond or any of its original characters; Kathryn Lasky does**

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Chapter Thirteen

The Distant Country

"This is so exciting!" Aldwyn yipped from the back. "An adventure with absolutely nothing happening. Couldn't get more thrilling."

"I would be really happy if you shut your muzzle," Padraigh muttered.

Airmead ignored them. She was having a hard time as it was leading them, for dangers were as worse and more than she had anticipated. Food was scarce: a lemming if they were lucky. Catching fish would be great, only they were no where close to the water's edge. Leaning over to try would be preposterous.

"Do you hear that?" Kinnaird asked, looking over his shoulder and back.

"No, I didn't," Bangwen pushed passed him angrily. Kinnaird made him sick, for they had both loved Morag.

Leitha pressed her ear against the ice, barking with excitement. "It's running! Someone else is on this bridge."  
"Faolan and Edme!" Twist exclaimed.

Airmead listened as well. "No, Twist. It is coming from the opposite way." she looked up, her jaw dropping. Hardly one hundred yards away was a reasonable pack of Outclanners in their pursuit—the Distant Country was "theirs" in their minds. "Run, run!" Airmead yelped, turning tail.

Their chances were long gone. In moments the Outclanners caught up, clashing into them. Finola gasped, for the Distant Blue was only a few miles away, though the Bridge had ended before them at fifty yards. "Don't go anywhere!" the Outclanner leader, Democ, snarled. "That country is ours."

"It belongs to wolves of the Beyond!" Airmead yelled. "You Outclanners rebelled; it rightfully belongs to us."

Brecco ran out, his tailed raised in dominance. He was quickly clawed down by Democ, who was attacked by Kinnaird. "Get off of him, you're going to get yourselves killed!" Twist shouted.

Kinnaird was pinned to the ground by Democ, his neck soon tight in the grip of jaws. Life was over, he knew, and he would never see the world he had walked mile after mile to reach. That is, until an unlikely rescuer came to his aid.

Democ was shoved to the ground by none other than Brangwen. "Run!" the red MacDonegal wolf barked to his friends. "The Bridge is breaking!"

He was true to his word. It had been broken only a few nights before, obviously, and now it was repeating itself. "To the ice!" Airmead called, the wolves leaping off of the bridge and onto some floating ice drifts. All were safe but the Outclanners. And Brangwen.

"Da!" Brecco cried as his father tackled Democ until part of the Bridge toppled over. To their surprise, Kinnaird still remained and was trying to fight off Democ as well.

It was not a good idea. Democ attacked and nearly killed him again, knocking him senseless. Bangwen again came to his rescue, shoving Kinnaird towards the ice drifts while keeping his head above the freezing water. The MacDonegal there found his fate: in the cold now bloody water he put Democ into an unconsciousness soon to kill him. With one last look at his frightened son, Bangwen was shoved away into the sea, separated from his son and the brigade—his time was over.

* * *

"Back?" Faolan whispered to himself, trotting back to his friends and thinking of the horse he had seen moments before. He knew he had been there before as the first Fengo with Stormfast, his mate. This was, of course, Edme.

"Where have you been?" the beautiful young Watch Wolf asked, appearing by his side. "Myrr is fast asleep. He was trying to comfort Maudie."

"That poor pup!" Faolan whispered, glancing up at the night sky. "What do you say we go to the beach, Edme?" he asked.

Her reply was a lick to his muzzle, and off they went. After a few moments of trotting, they came to the edge of the sea, a white dot in the distance: the Beyond. That place where Thunderheart had raised Faolan, where Faolan had won the _Gaddergnaw_ games, where all the adventures had taken place for a thousand years. Never again would they return.

These thoughts broke up as a few large ice drifts floated to the shore, eighteen exhausted wolves upon them. Above circled an owl. The two Watch Wolves raced towards them as they stepped onto their new world for the first time. "Twist!" Faolan burst into tears and towards his _taiga_, licking him greetings many a time.

"Snowdon! Leitha!" Edme gasped, greeting her tired friends. "How did you all get here?"

"A very determined female…" Twist panted, nodded towards Airmead.

Faolan ran back to his brigade, bringing out the rest of the remaining wolves of the Beyond: many meetings were made. Katria made up with Andreen, Airmead finally met Airmead, her mother's only known relative, Faolan and Twist spent the night talking, and all was made right. All but Brangwen.

"Faolan," Brecco spoke up. "My mother, Morag, was also yours. We are brothers."

Faolan nuzzled his brother. "And I am glad. Where is Brangwen? Did he die in the earthquake?"  
"He died defending us from Outclanners," said Kinnaird. He gulped, stepped up to Faolan. He had been holding in his secret for far too long, and now it was time to let it go. "I, Faolan… I am Morag's paw-fast mate. Her first: the father of Mhairie, Dearlea, and you."

Faolan was speechless. After a few moments of bewilderment, he and his father—real blood father—finally reunited. Taddeus met his mother, Caila, and his sisters Mhairie and Dearlea again. The MacDuncans continued their clan with Faolan and Edme as their chieftains, and the MacAngus Clan was continued by Aldwyn who became the paw-fast mate of Andreen. Brecco was the chieftain of the MacDonegal Clan and began a search party to discover the layout of their new home. Life already was perfect, and that way it would stay for as long as they lived.


	14. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wolves of the Beyond or any of its original characters; Kathryn Lasky does**

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Epilogue

"Lovely," Lilly sighed, setting one of her pure white paws onto their buffalo kills. "You first," she nodded to her best friend, Myrr. They were mature adults now, and needed no help from their elderly parents. Myrr had wonderful wolves to raise him: the great Faolan and Edme who adopted him.

Lilly looked up to her mother and father approaching, one white like her, and the other red. "Mother, we caught one."

Airmead sat beside it, digging at it with her claws. "I have not had one of these in ages!" she smiled, tearing out a piece for her mate, and laying it at his paws.

"Thank you," Brecco yipped, nuzzling his wife. They had been paw-fast for years now in the Distant Blue, as they had learned to call it. Their daughter Lilly was now grown up, though she still asked their permission for anything all of the time.

"Mum," Lilly stood up. "Myrr invited me to climb _Morag's Mountain_ today. May I go?"  
Airmead and Brecco exchanged glances and slowly nodded. "You may. He careful, though."

The two young wolves left at once for the mountain, chasing one another all the way up. It was named after Myrr's father's mother, Morag. He enjoyed it even more because of this. Upon reaching the top, they found the two reddish wolves, the offspring of Banja, and the offspring of Heep. "Maudie and Abban—what are you doing here?" Lilly inquired.

"Enjoying the breeze," Abban said, lowering his voice to a whisper that only he could her. "In fact, it's going to make me sneeze."

Maudie looked dreamily across the landscape to the west. Their world was beautiful, and in the back of her mind she could still remember her mother Banja. But that was years ago, and now they were well into adulthood.

"Well, the Brigade and the two of us caught a large bison down there. If you're hungry…" Myrr trailed off, laughing as both wolves zipped back down towards the meat.

Lilly smiled; Myrr had been her best friend since she was born, though he was a few months older. They were friends and nothing more, unlike Abban teased and rhymed about. Life was sweet and eventful there, and she adored it.

As Myrr ranted on about the beautiful weather, Lilly began to doze off into some sort of trance towards the east. Away, away she went as if she were going _by lag_. But her vision finally cleared at something off across the sea… another country beautiful and shining, green and wonderful. She could even see a volcano erupting. "The Beyond…" she whispered. "All that was bent would be straight, all that was broken would be mended, and those that were born malformed would be suddenly right. The Beyond's time has returned."

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